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 superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, risk, valuation, media sentiment and analyst recommendations.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, 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	4.43	$358.68M	$5.68	12.80
First Financial Bancorp.	$1.62B	1.48	$228.83M	$2.50	10.02

Do institutionals and insiders believe 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. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.1% of First Financial Bancorp. shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media refer more to ABCB or FFBC?

In the previous week, First Financial Bancorp. had 8 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Financial Bancorp. and 0 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat First Financial Bancorp.'s score of 0.86 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	Positive
First Financial Bancorp.	Positive

Do analysts recommend ABCB or FFBC?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 0.81%. First Financial Bancorp. has a consensus target price of $29.83, indicating a potential upside of 19.08%. 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)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57

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 4.0%. 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 more risk & volatility, ABCB or FFBC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bancorp. has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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.