Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, PNFP or ABCB?

Pinnacle Financial Partners has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is PNFP or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Pinnacle Financial Partners' net margin of 18.69%. Pinnacle Financial Partners' return on equity of 9.60% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Pinnacle Financial Partners	18.69%	9.60%	1.13%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Does the media favor PNFP or ABCB?

In the previous week, Pinnacle Financial Partners had 6 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Pinnacle Financial Partners and 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.15 beat Pinnacle Financial Partners' score of 0.69 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Pinnacle Financial Partners	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	5 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders believe in PNFP or ABCB?

87.4% of Pinnacle Financial Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.5% of Pinnacle Financial Partners 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, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has better valuation & earnings, PNFP or ABCB?

Pinnacle Financial Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Pinnacle Financial Partners 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
Pinnacle Financial Partners	$3.07B	2.39	$475.06M	$7.54	12.53
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.52	$358.68M	$5.68	13.07

Do analysts rate PNFP or ABCB?

Pinnacle Financial Partners presently has a consensus target price of $112.45, suggesting a potential upside of 19.02%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 2.82%. Given Pinnacle Financial Partners' higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Pinnacle Financial Partners is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Pinnacle Financial Partners	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Is PNFP or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Pinnacle Financial Partners pays an annual dividend of $0.96 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Pinnacle Financial Partners pays out 12.7% 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. Pinnacle Financial Partners has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years.

Summary

Pinnacle Financial Partners and Ameris Bancorp tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.