First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer FFBC or ABCB?

In the previous week, First Financial Bancorp. and First Financial Bancorp. both had 5 articles in the media. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.22 beat First Financial Bancorp.'s score of 0.71 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 Financial Bancorp.	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is FFBC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to First Financial Bancorp.'s net margin of 19.41%. First Financial Bancorp.'s return on equity of 10.57% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bancorp.	19.41%	10.57%	1.42%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has more volatility and risk, FFBC or ABCB?

First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend FFBC or ABCB?

First Financial Bancorp. currently has a consensus target price of $29.00, suggesting a potential upside of 22.73%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 7.39%. Given First Financial Bancorp.'s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First Financial Bancorp. is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

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

77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris 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.

Is FFBC or ABCB a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 38.4% 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. First Financial Bancorp. has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. First Financial Bancorp. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, FFBC or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial 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
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62B	1.40	$228.83M	$2.50	9.45
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	4.06	$358.68M	$5.68	11.83

Summary

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