Synovus Financial (SNV) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, SNV or ABCB?

Synovus Financial has a beta of 1.19, suggesting that its stock price is 19% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, SNV or ABCB?

Synovus Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Synovus Financial, 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
Synovus Financial	$3.43B	2.23	$482.46M	$3.57	15.43
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Is SNV or ABCB a better dividend stock?

Synovus Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Synovus Financial pays out 43.7% 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. Synovus Financial has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Synovus Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media refer more to SNV or ABCB?

In the previous week, Synovus Financial had 11 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 16 mentions for Synovus Financial and 5 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. Synovus Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.02 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.47 indicating that Synovus Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Synovus Financial	7 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Do analysts recommend SNV or ABCB?

Synovus Financial presently has a consensus target price of $57.11, suggesting a potential upside of 3.65%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $71.43, suggesting a potential upside of 5.45%. Given Ameris Bancorp's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Synovus Financial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Synovus Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	8 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.61
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

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

83.9% of Synovus Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of Synovus Financial 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 will outperform the market over the long term.

Is SNV or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Synovus Financial's net margin of 16.19%. Synovus Financial's return on equity of 15.87% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Synovus Financial	16.19%	15.87%	1.26%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Summary

Synovus Financial beats Ameris Bancorp on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.