Towne Bank (TOWN) Competitors

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

Do analysts recommend ABCB or TOWN?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 4.78%. Towne Bank has a consensus price target of $40.67, indicating a potential upside of 12.81%. Given Towne Bank's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Towne 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
Towne Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is ABCB or TOWN more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Towne Bank's net margin of 16.49%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Towne Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Towne Bank	16.49%	8.99%	1.12%

Is ABCB or TOWN a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Towne Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Towne Bank pays out 47.0% 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. Towne Bank has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Towne Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has stronger valuation and earnings, ABCB or TOWN?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Towne Bank. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Towne Bank, 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	$1.13B	4.62	$358.68M	$5.68	13.34
Towne Bank	$1.03B	2.64	$161.76M	$2.30	15.67

Do institutionals and insiders believe in ABCB or TOWN?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 56.0% of Towne Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 8.1% of Towne Bank shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media favor ABCB or TOWN?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 7 more articles in the media than Towne Bank. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 4 mentions for Towne Bank. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.32 beat Towne Bank's score of 0.98 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Towne Bank	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, ABCB or TOWN?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Towne Bank has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its share price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Towne Bank on 14 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.