First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or FFBC a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First Financial Bancorp. pays an annual dividend of $1.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bancorp. pays out 40.0% 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 raised 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 preferable valuation & earnings, ABCB or FFBC?

Ameris Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.57	$358.68M	$5.68	13.20
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62B	1.53	$228.83M	$2.50	10.33

Which has more volatility and risk, ABCB or FFBC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in ABCB or FFBC?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 77.2% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts recommend ABCB or FFBC?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 3.75%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $29.40, indicating a potential upside of 13.87%. Given First Financial Bancorp.'s higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe First Financial 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
First Financial Bancorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Does the media prefer ABCB or FFBC?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 3 more articles in the media than First Financial Bancorp.. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 3 mentions for First Financial Bancorp.. First Financial Bancorp.'s average media sentiment score of 1.07 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.62 indicating that First Financial Bancorp. is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Is ABCB or FFBC 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
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
First Financial Bancorp.	19.41%	10.57%	1.42%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats First Financial Bancorp. on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.