Graham (GHC) Competitors

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

Is ABCB or GHC a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Graham pays an annual dividend of $7.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Graham pays out 4.6% 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. Graham has raised its dividend for 10 consecutive years.

Is ABCB or GHC more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Graham's net margin of 14.10%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Graham's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Graham	14.10%	6.79%	3.81%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ABCB or GHC?

Graham has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Graham 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.39	$358.68M	$5.68	12.69
Graham	$4.79B	1.00	$724.63M	$155.77	7.05

Does the media prefer ABCB or GHC?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 2 more articles in the media than Graham. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 11 mentions for Graham. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.59 beat Graham's score of 1.38 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	12 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Graham	9 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders and institutionals have more ownership in ABCB or GHC?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 93.2% of Graham shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 20.5% of Graham shares are held 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.

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or GHC?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Graham has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts prefer ABCB or GHC?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $72.14, suggesting a potential upside of 0.09%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Graham.

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
Graham	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	0.00

Summary

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