Brookline Bancorp (BRKL) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Brookline Bancorp (NASDAQ:BRKL) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, valuation, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, dividends, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Do analysts prefer ABCB or BRKL?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 2.44%. Brookline Bancorp has a consensus price target of $15.25, indicating a potential upside of 39.27%. Given Brookline Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Brookline Bancorp is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Brookline Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ABCB or BRKL?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 78.9% of Brookline Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 2.6% of Brookline Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ABCB or BRKL more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Brookline Bancorp's net margin of 12.12%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Brookline Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Brookline Bancorp	12.12%	6.69%	0.71%

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or BRKL?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Brookline Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, ABCB or BRKL?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Brookline Bancorp. Brookline Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameris Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.50	$358.68M	$5.68	13.02
Brookline Bancorp	$654.14M	1.49	$68.71M	$0.89	12.30

Does the media favor ABCB or BRKL?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 2 more articles in the media than Brookline Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 7 mentions for Brookline Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.64 beat Brookline Bancorp's score of 1.31 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	9 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Brookline Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ABCB or BRKL a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Brookline Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.9%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Brookline Bancorp pays out 60.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Brookline Bancorp on 15 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.