FBP vs. ABCB, BPOP, FFBC, HWC, IBOC, WTFC, ASB, FNB, OFG, and WBS
Should you be buying First BanCorp. stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of First BanCorp. include Ameris Bancorp (ABCB), Popular (BPOP), First Financial Bancorp. (FFBC), Hancock Whitney (HWC), International Bancshares (IBOC), Wintrust Financial (WTFC), Associated Banc (ASB), F.N.B. (FNB), OFG Bancorp (OFG), and Webster Financial (WBS). These companies are all part of the "finance" sector.
First BanCorp. vs. Its Competitors
First BanCorp. (NYSE:FBP) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, earnings, profitability, risk and media sentiment.
First BanCorp. has a beta of 0.97, suggesting that its stock price is 3% less 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.
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.
97.9% of First BanCorp. shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.3% of First BanCorp. shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
First BanCorp. currently has a consensus price target of $24.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.45%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 4.96%. Given First BanCorp.'s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe First BanCorp. is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.
In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 3 more articles in the media than First BanCorp.. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 5 mentions for First BanCorp.. First BanCorp.'s average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.32 indicating that First BanCorp. is being referred to more favorably in the media.
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.
First BanCorp. pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. First BanCorp. pays out 38.3% 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. First BanCorp. has increased 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.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding FBP and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period.
Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NYSE and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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This page (NYSE:FBP) was last updated on 9/19/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff