First Bank (FRBA) Competitors

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and First Bank (NASDAQ:FRBA) are both finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, media sentiment, earnings, dividends, profitability and risk.

Is ABCB or FRBA more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to First Bank's net margin of 16.13%. Ameris Bancorp's return on equity of 9.57% beat First Bank's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
First Bank	16.13%	9.51%	1.02%

Which has more risk and volatility, ABCB or FRBA?

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Bank has a beta of 0.77, suggesting that its stock price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is ABCB or FRBA a better dividend stock?

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. First Bank pays an annual dividend of $0.24 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Bank pays out 15.9% 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.

Which has higher valuation & earnings, ABCB or FRBA?

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than First Bank. First 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
Ameris Bancorp	$1.14B	3.98	$358.68M	$5.68	11.60
First Bank	$229.43M	N/A	$42.24M	$1.51	9.70

Does the media favor ABCB or FRBA?

In the previous week, Ameris Bancorp had 7 more articles in the media than First Bank. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Ameris Bancorp and 8 mentions for First Bank. First Bank's average media sentiment score of 1.09 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.67 indicating that First Bank is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	5 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
First Bank	2 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals believe in ABCB or FRBA?

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.9% of First Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 13.1% of First Bank shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Do analysts prefer ABCB or FRBA?

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential upside of 9.46%. First Bank has a consensus target price of $17.83, indicating a potential upside of 21.81%. Given First Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe First Bank 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
First Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats First Bank on 12 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.