National Bank (NBHC) Competitors

National Bank (NYSE:NBHC) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, profitability, earnings, media sentiment, valuation, risk and dividends.

Which has preferable earnings & valuation, NBHC or ABCB?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than National Bank. National Bank 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
National Bank	$599.50M	2.51	$118.82M	$3.10	12.76
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13B	4.58	$358.68M	$5.68	13.25

Is NBHC or ABCB a better dividend stock?

National Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.20 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. National Bank pays out 38.7% 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. National Bank has increased its dividend for 10 consecutive years. National Bank is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer NBHC or ABCB?

In the previous week, National Bank had 13 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 17 mentions for National Bank and 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 0.96 beat National Bank's score of 0.88 indicating that Ameris Bancorp is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
National Bank	3 Very Positive mention(s)	4 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

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

92.7% of National Bank shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 2.9% of National Bank shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is NBHC or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to National Bank's net margin of 20.02%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat National Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
National Bank	20.02%	9.44%	1.25%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Do analysts recommend NBHC or ABCB?

National Bank presently has a consensus price target of $46.60, suggesting a potential upside of 17.77%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $72.14, suggesting a potential downside of 4.12%. Given National Bank's higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe National Bank is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
National Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Which has more risk & volatility, NBHC or ABCB?

National Bank has a beta of 0.78, indicating that its stock price is 22% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.97, indicating that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats National Bank on 14 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.