Walker & Dunlop (WD) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Walker & Dunlop (NYSE:WD) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, media sentiment and valuation.

Which has more volatility and risk, ABCB or WD?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, suggesting that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Walker & Dunlop has a beta of 1.54, suggesting that its share price is 54% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.0% of Walker & Dunlop shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 3.7% of Walker & Dunlop shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is ABCB or WD a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Walker & Dunlop pays an annual dividend of $2.68 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.5%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Walker & Dunlop pays out 91.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Walker & Dunlop has raised its dividend for 7 consecutive years. Walker & Dunlop is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Is ABCB or WD more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to Walker & Dunlop's net margin of 8.68%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat Walker & Dunlop's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Walker & Dunlop	8.68%	8.99%	3.56%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, ABCB or WD?

Ameris Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Walker & Dunlop. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Walker & Dunlop, 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	$1.12B	4.18	$358.68M	$5.40	12.63
Walker & Dunlop	$1.14B	2.27	$108.17M	$2.92	26.13

Do analysts prefer ABCB or WD?

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 4.76%. Walker & Dunlop has a consensus price target of $102.50, indicating a potential upside of 34.33%. Given Walker & Dunlop's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Walker & Dunlop is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

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
Walker & Dunlop	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Does the media favor ABCB or WD?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 4 more articles in the media than Walker & Dunlop. MarketBeat recorded 7 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 3 mentions for Walker & Dunlop. Ameris Bancorp's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Walker & Dunlop's score of 1.36 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	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Walker & Dunlop	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Walker & Dunlop on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.