Veritex (VBTX) Competitors

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

Does the media favor VBTX or ABCB?

In the previous week, Veritex had 8 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Veritex and 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.52 beat Veritex's score of 1.36 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Veritex	10 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Do analysts prefer VBTX or ABCB?

Veritex currently has a consensus target price of $33.25, suggesting a potential downside of 3.34%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 3.03%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Veritex.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Veritex	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.63
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has higher earnings and valuation, VBTX or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Veritex. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Veritex, 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
Veritex	$797.62M	2.36	$107.24M	$2.10	16.38
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.53	$358.68M	$5.68	13.10

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in VBTX or ABCB?

88.3% of Veritex shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 4.3% of Veritex shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is VBTX or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Veritex pays an annual dividend of $0.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Veritex pays out 41.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% 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. Veritex has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Veritex is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Which has more risk & volatility, VBTX or ABCB?

Veritex has a beta of 1.08, suggesting that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is VBTX or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Veritex's net margin of 14.83%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Veritex's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Veritex	14.83%	7.55%	0.96%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Summary

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