UMB Financial (UMBF) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate ABCB or UMBF?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 3.98%. UMB Financial has a consensus price target of $127.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.00%. Given UMB Financial's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe UMB Financial 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
UMB Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or UMBF?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UMB Financial has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ABCB or UMBF?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.8% of UMB Financial shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of UMB Financial shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ABCB or UMBF a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. UMB Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UMB Financial pays out 20.1% 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. UMB Financial has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years. UMB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media favor ABCB or UMBF?

In the previous week, UMB Financial had 6 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for UMB Financial and 12 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. UMB Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.06 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.68 indicating that UMB Financial 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)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
UMB Financial	7 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ABCB or UMBF more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to UMB Financial's net margin of 13.64%. UMB Financial's return on equity of 12.09% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
UMB Financial	13.64%	12.09%	0.96%

Which has higher valuation and earnings, ABCB or UMBF?

UMB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UMB Financial, 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	4.19	$358.68M	$5.68	12.21
UMB Financial	$1.62B	5.28	$441.24M	$7.95	14.14

Summary

UMB Financial beats Ameris Bancorp on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.