First Bancorp (FBNC) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, FBNC or ABCB?

First Bancorp has a beta of 1, suggesting that its share price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FBNC or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First 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
First Bancorp	$372.73M	6.17	$76.21M	$2.34	23.71
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.55	$358.68M	$5.68	13.15

Is FBNC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to First Bancorp's net margin of 17.65%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat First Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bancorp	17.65%	8.96%	1.09%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Is FBNC or ABCB a better dividend stock?

First Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First Bancorp pays out 39.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% 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.

Do analysts rate FBNC or ABCB?

First Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $56.67, suggesting a potential upside of 2.13%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 3.41%. Given First Bancorp's higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe First Bancorp is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.80
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media prefer FBNC or ABCB?

In the previous week, First Bancorp and First Bancorp both had 7 articles in the media. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat First Bancorp's score of 1.15 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

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

68.4% of First Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 3.7% of First Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats First Bancorp on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.