Towne Bank (TOWN) Competitors

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

Which has preferable valuation and earnings, TOWN or ABCB?

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
Towne Bank	$1.03B	2.63	$161.76M	$2.36	15.25
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Which has more risk & volatility, TOWN or ABCB?

Towne Bank has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend TOWN or ABCB?

Towne Bank presently has a consensus price target of $40.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.16%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Towne Bank's higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Towne Bank is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Towne Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media refer more to TOWN or ABCB?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 1 more articles in the media than Towne Bank. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 3 mentions for Towne Bank. Towne Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.96 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.47 indicating that Towne Bank is being referred to more favorably in the media.

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

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

56.0% of Towne Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 8.1% of Towne Bank shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp 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.

Is TOWN or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Towne Bank's net margin of 17.15%. 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
Towne Bank	17.15%	8.27%	1.03%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Is TOWN or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Towne Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Towne Bank pays out 45.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% 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. Towne Bank has increased 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.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Towne Bank on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.