First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or FFIN?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Financial Bankshares has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media prefer ABCB or FFIN?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 3 more articles in the media than First Financial Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 5 mentions for First Financial Bankshares. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.43 beat First Financial Bankshares' score of 1.41 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Financial Bankshares	3 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 FFIN more profitable?

First Financial Bankshares has a net margin of 31.01% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. First Financial Bankshares' return on equity of 14.69% 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 Bankshares	31.01%	14.69%	1.75%

Do analysts rate ABCB or FFIN?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 3.03%. First Financial Bankshares has a consensus price target of $39.25, indicating a potential upside of 10.94%. Given First Financial Bankshares' higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Financial Bankshares 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 Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 4.0% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ABCB or FFIN 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 Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Financial Bankshares pays out 44.2% 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 Bankshares has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years. First Financial Bankshares is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has better valuation and earnings, ABCB or FFIN?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Financial Bankshares. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Financial Bankshares, 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	4.27	$358.68M	$5.68	12.33
First Financial Bankshares	$752.91M	6.72	$223.51M	$1.72	20.57

Summary

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