ConnectOne Bancorp (CNOB) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or CNOB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to ConnectOne Bancorp's net margin of 6.85%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat ConnectOne Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
ConnectOne Bancorp	6.85%	7.12%	0.79%

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ABCB or CNOB?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.7% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.4% of ConnectOne Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or CNOB?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, ConnectOne Bancorp has a beta of 1.14, indicating that its share price is 14% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or CNOB a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. ConnectOne Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. ConnectOne Bancorp pays out 82.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. ConnectOne Bancorp has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. ConnectOne Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor ABCB or CNOB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp and Ameris Bancorp both had 2 articles in the media. ConnectOne Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.97 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.63 indicating that ConnectOne Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
ConnectOne Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts prefer ABCB or CNOB?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 2.87%. ConnectOne Bancorp has a consensus price target of $30.25, indicating a potential upside of 18.53%. Given ConnectOne Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe ConnectOne 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
ConnectOne Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Which has better earnings and valuation, ABCB or CNOB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than ConnectOne Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than ConnectOne 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	4.52	$358.68M	$5.68	13.08
ConnectOne Bancorp	$534.62M	2.40	$73.79M	$0.87	29.33

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats ConnectOne Bancorp on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.