First Foundation (FFWM) Competitors

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

Which has more risk & volatility, FFWM or ABCB?

First Foundation has a beta of 1, meaning that its share price has a similar volatility profile to 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 institutionals & insiders hold more shares of FFWM or ABCB?

73.1% of First Foundation shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 9.5% of First Foundation 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 endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is FFWM or ABCB a better dividend stock?

First Foundation pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First Foundation pays out -2.8% 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.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, FFWM or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Foundation. First Foundation 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 Foundation	$66.26M	6.84	-$92.41M	-$1.41	-3.90
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.30	$358.68M	$5.68	12.43

Is FFWM or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to First Foundation's net margin of -13.94%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat First Foundation's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Foundation	-13.94%	-0.73%	-0.05%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Do analysts prefer FFWM or ABCB?

First Foundation currently has a consensus price target of $6.25, suggesting a potential upside of 13.53%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 2.19%. Given First Foundation's higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe First Foundation is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Foundation	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media prefer FFWM or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 3 more articles in the media than First Foundation. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 4 mentions for First Foundation. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.05 beat First Foundation's score of 0.48 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 Foundation	1 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Ameris Bancorp	4 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats First Foundation on 13 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.