SouthState (SSB) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate ABCB or SSB?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 9.46%. SouthState has a consensus price target of $115.27, indicating a potential upside of 24.39%. Given SouthState's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe SouthState 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
SouthState	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.09

Does the media refer more to ABCB or SSB?

In the previous week, SouthState had 10 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 25 mentions for SouthState and 15 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. SouthState's average media sentiment score of 1.12 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.67 indicating that SouthState is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
SouthState	13 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ABCB or SSB a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. SouthState pays out 35.8% 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. SouthState has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. SouthState is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ABCB or SSB?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 89.8% of SouthState shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of SouthState shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or SSB?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, indicating that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, SouthState has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or SSB more profitable?

SouthState has a net margin of 22.38% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. SouthState's return on equity of 9.62% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
SouthState	22.38%	9.62%	1.21%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, ABCB or SSB?

SouthState has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SouthState, 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	3.98	$358.68M	$5.68	11.60
SouthState	$2.12B	4.43	$534.78M	$6.71	13.81

Summary

SouthState beats Ameris Bancorp on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.