Preferred Bank (PFBC) Competitors

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

Does the media favor ABCB or PFBC?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 8 more articles in the media than Preferred Bank. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 3 mentions for Preferred Bank. Preferred Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.27 indicating that Preferred Bank is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Preferred Bank	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more volatility and risk, ABCB or PFBC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Preferred Bank has a beta of 0.75, indicating that its stock price is 25% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ABCB or PFBC?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 72.8% of Preferred Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, ABCB or PFBC?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Preferred Bank. Preferred 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	3.99	$358.68M	$5.68	11.63
Preferred Bank	$522.66M	2.48	$130.66M	$9.46	9.50

Do analysts recommend ABCB or PFBC?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 9.22%. Preferred Bank has a consensus target price of $103.67, indicating a potential upside of 15.39%. Given Preferred Bank's higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Preferred Bank 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
Preferred Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Is ABCB or PFBC more profitable?

Preferred Bank has a net margin of 25.04% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. Preferred Bank's return on equity of 16.64% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Preferred Bank	25.04%	16.64%	1.80%

Is ABCB or PFBC a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Preferred Bank pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Preferred Bank pays out 31.7% 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. Preferred Bank has raised its dividend for 5 consecutive years. Preferred Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Preferred Bank on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.