Valley National Bancorp (VLY) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or VLY more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Valley National Bancorp's net margin of 12.87%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Valley National Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Valley National Bancorp	12.87%	5.89%	0.66%

Does the media refer more to ABCB or VLY?

In the previous week, Valley National Bancorp had 13 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 23 mentions for Valley National Bancorp and 10 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.34 beat Valley National Bancorp's score of 0.83 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)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Valley National Bancorp	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is ABCB or VLY a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Valley National Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Valley National Bancorp pays out 56.4% 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.

Do analysts recommend ABCB or VLY?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 1.74%. Valley National Bancorp has a consensus price target of $11.85, suggesting a potential upside of 12.45%. Given Valley National Bancorp's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Valley National Bancorp 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
Valley National Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or VLY?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its share price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Valley National Bancorp has a beta of 1.13, suggesting that its share price is 13% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 61.0% of Valley National Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of Valley National Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ABCB or VLY?

Valley National Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Valley National Bancorp, 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	4.47	$358.68M	$5.68	12.93
Valley National Bancorp	$3.58B	1.65	$380.27M	$0.78	13.51

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Valley National Bancorp on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.