Southern First Bancshares (SFST) Competitors

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

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ABCB or SFST?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 75.0% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.1% of Southern First Bancshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Which has more volatility & risk, ABCB or SFST?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Southern First Bancshares has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or SFST more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Southern First Bancshares' net margin of 10.09%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Southern First Bancshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Southern First Bancshares	10.09%	6.52%	0.52%

Does the media favor ABCB or SFST?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 14 more articles in the media than Southern First Bancshares. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 0 mentions for Southern First Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat Southern First Bancshares' score of 0.00 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	Positive
Southern First Bancshares	Neutral

Do analysts rate ABCB or SFST?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 7.37%. Southern First Bancshares has a consensus price target of $51.00, suggesting a potential upside of 24.39%. Given Southern First Bancshares' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Southern First Bancshares 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
Southern First Bancshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Which has better valuation & earnings, ABCB or SFST?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Southern First Bancshares. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Southern First Bancshares, 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	4.06	$358.68M	$5.68	11.83
Southern First Bancshares	$213.35M	1.57	$15.53M	$2.70	15.19

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Southern First Bancshares on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.