First Bank (FRBA) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend FRBA or ABCB?

First Bank currently has a consensus price target of $17.83, suggesting a potential upside of 14.10%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 2.87%. Given First Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Bank is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
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, FRBA or ABCB?

First Bank has a beta of 0.78, meaning that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FRBA or ABCB a better dividend stock?

First Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First Bank pays out 15.9% 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.

Does the media favor FRBA or ABCB?

In the previous week, First Bank had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 5 mentions for First Bank and 3 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.90 beat First Bank's score of 0.49 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 Bank	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Ameris Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in FRBA or ABCB?

64.9% of First Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 13.1% of First Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is FRBA or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to First Bank's net margin of 16.13%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat First Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bank	16.13%	9.44%	1.01%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has higher earnings and valuation, FRBA or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Bank. First Bank 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 Bank	$137.12M	2.23	$42.24M	$1.51	10.35
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.52	$358.68M	$5.68	13.08

Summary

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