UMB Financial (UMBF) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate UMBF or ABCB?

UMB Financial presently has a consensus price target of $122.88, indicating a potential upside of 11.35%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus price target of $71.43, indicating a potential upside of 5.45%. Given UMB Financial's higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe UMB Financial is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
UMB Financial	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Ameris Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86

Does the media refer more to UMBF or ABCB?

In the previous week, UMB Financial had 2 more articles in the media than Ameris Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for UMB Financial and 4 mentions for Ameris Bancorp. UMB Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.37 beat Ameris Bancorp's score of 0.59 indicating that UMB Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
UMB Financial	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Ameris Bancorp	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is UMBF or ABCB a better dividend stock?

UMB Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. UMB Financial pays out 20.1% 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. UMB Financial has raised its dividend for 32 consecutive years. UMB Financial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

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

87.8% of UMB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of UMB Financial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by company 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 UMBF or ABCB more profitable?

Ameris Bancorp has a net margin of 21.46% compared to UMB Financial's net margin of 13.64%. UMB Financial's return on equity of 12.09% beat Ameris Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UMB Financial	13.64%	12.09%	0.96%
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Which has more volatility and risk, UMBF or ABCB?

UMB Financial has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.93, meaning that its stock price is 7% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has stronger valuation & earnings, UMBF or ABCB?

UMB Financial has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UMB 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
UMB Financial	$2.80B	2.99	$441.24M	$7.95	13.88
Ameris Bancorp	$1.12B	4.15	$358.68M	$5.40	12.54

Summary

UMB Financial beats Ameris Bancorp on 12 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.