Hilltop (HTH) Competitors

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

Does the media prefer ABCB or HTH?

In the previous week, Hilltop had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Hilltop and 1 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.50 beat Hilltop's score of 0.75 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	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Hilltop	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of ABCB or HTH?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.1% of Hilltop shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 29.9% of Hilltop shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is ABCB or HTH a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Hilltop pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Hilltop pays out 32.3% 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. Hilltop has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Hilltop is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is ABCB or HTH more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Hilltop's net margin of 8.90%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Hilltop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Hilltop	8.90%	6.46%	0.91%

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, ABCB or HTH?

Ameris Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Hilltop. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Hilltop, 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	4.22	$358.68M	$5.68	12.18
Hilltop	$1.61B	1.22	$113.21M	$2.23	13.91

Do analysts rate ABCB or HTH?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 4.25%. Hilltop has a consensus target price of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.19%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Hilltop.

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
Hilltop	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Which has more volatility & risk, ABCB or HTH?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its stock price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Hilltop has a beta of 0.87, indicating that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Hilltop on 13 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.