First Financial Bankshares (FFIN) Competitors

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

Is FFIN or ABCB a better dividend stock?

First Financial Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.76 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. First Financial Bankshares pays out 46.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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 increased 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.

Do analysts rate FFIN or ABCB?

First Financial Bankshares currently has a consensus price target of $38.50, suggesting a potential upside of 4.82%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 6.14%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than First Financial Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Financial Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has more volatility and risk, FFIN or ABCB?

First Financial Bankshares has a beta of 0.87, suggesting that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FFIN or ABCB more profitable?

First Financial Bankshares has a net margin of 30.01% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. First Financial Bankshares' return on equity of 14.31% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Financial Bankshares	30.01%	14.31%	1.68%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, FFIN or ABCB?

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
First Financial Bankshares	$752.91M	6.98	$223.51M	$1.62	22.67
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.13	$358.68M	$5.40	12.46

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

69.8% of First Financial Bankshares shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 4.2% of First Financial Bankshares 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 large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media refer more to FFIN or ABCB?

In the previous week, First Financial Bankshares had 5 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Financial Bankshares and 3 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.39 beat First Financial Bankshares' score of 1.08 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 Bankshares	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 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)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

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