First Bank (FRBA) Competitors

First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) 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 risk, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, dividends, media sentiment and institutional ownership.

Do analysts prefer FRBA or ABCB?

First Bank currently has a consensus target price of $17.25, indicating a potential upside of 5.54%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 5.45%. Given First Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly 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)	2 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 & risk, FRBA or ABCB?

First Bank has a beta of 0.76, suggesting that its stock price is 24% 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.

Which has better 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	$131.64M	2.43	$42.24M	$1.54	10.61
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Is FRBA or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to First Bank's net margin of 16.88%. First Bank's return on equity of 9.99% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Bank	16.88%	9.99%	1.08%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Do insiders & institutionals believe in FRBA or ABCB?

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

Does the media prefer FRBA or ABCB?

In the previous week, First Bank had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for First Bank and 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.47 beat First Bank's score of -0.57 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	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Negative
Ameris Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

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 1.2%. First Bank pays out 15.6% 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.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats First Bank on 12 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.