First BanCorp. (FBP) Competitors

First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, media sentiment, dividends, earnings and risk.

Is FBP or ABCB more profitable?

First BanCorp. has a net margin of 24.71% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. First BanCorp.'s return on equity of 17.54% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First BanCorp.	24.71%	17.54%	1.61%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has more volatility and risk, FBP or ABCB?

First BanCorp. has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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

97.9% of First BanCorp. shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.3% of First BanCorp. shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer FBP or ABCB?

In the previous week, First BanCorp. had 9 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for First BanCorp. and 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat First BanCorp.'s score of 0.63 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First BanCorp.	3 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate FBP or ABCB?

First BanCorp. presently has a consensus price target of $24.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.56%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 7.75%. Given First BanCorp.'s higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe First BanCorp. is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First BanCorp.	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FBP or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has lower revenue, but higher earnings than First BanCorp.. First BanCorp. is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameris 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
First BanCorp.	$1.23B	2.79	$298.72M	$1.88	11.24
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.07	$358.68M	$5.40	12.28

Is FBP or ABCB a better dividend stock?

First BanCorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. First BanCorp. pays out 38.3% 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. First BanCorp. has raised its dividend for 6 consecutive years. First BanCorp. is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

First BanCorp. and Ameris Bancorp tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.