SouthState (SSB) Competitors

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

Is SSB or ABCB a better dividend stock?

SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.3%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. SouthState pays out 34.1% 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. SouthState has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. SouthState is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals believe in SSB or ABCB?

89.8% of SouthState shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of SouthState shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, SSB or ABCB?

SouthState has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SouthState, 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
SouthState	$1.88B	5.09	$534.78M	$6.33	14.92
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.03	$358.68M	$5.40	12.18

Does the media favor SSB or ABCB?

In the previous week, SouthState had 9 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 18 mentions for SouthState and 9 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. SouthState's average media sentiment score of 1.46 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 1.03 indicating that SouthState is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
SouthState	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	6 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, SSB or ABCB?

SouthState has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, indicating that its share price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is SSB or ABCB more profitable?

SouthState has a net margin of 22.38% compared to Ameris Bancorp's net margin of 21.46%. SouthState's return on equity of 9.62% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SouthState	22.38%	9.62%	1.21%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Do analysts prefer SSB or ABCB?

SouthState currently has a consensus price target of $116.45, indicating a potential upside of 23.30%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 8.64%. Given SouthState's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe SouthState is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SouthState	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	8 Buy rating(s)	2 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.09
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Summary

SouthState beats Ameris Bancorp on 15 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.