Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) vs. Sberbank of Russia (OTCMKTS:SBRCY) Head-To-Head Analysis

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Sberbank of Russia (OTCMKTS:SBRCY) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk, institutional ownership and profitability.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 0.1% of Sberbank of Russia shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Volatility and Risk

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its share price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sberbank of Russia has a beta of 1.56, suggesting that its share price is 56% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Sberbank of Russia”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.13 billion	4.48	$358.68 million	$5.68	12.96
Sberbank of Russia	$49.52 billion	0.06	$16.97 billion	N/A	N/A

Sberbank of Russia has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ameris Bancorp and Sberbank of Russia, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0	1	6	0	2.86
Sberbank of Russia	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $72.14, indicating a potential downside of 2.00%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Sberbank of Russia.

Profitability

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Sberbank of Russia’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%
Sberbank of Russia	40.80%	21.45%	2.97%

Dividends

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Sberbank of Russia pays an annual dividend of $0.85 per share and has a dividend yield of 163.5%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Summary

Sberbank of Russia beats Ameris Bancorp on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank that provides range of banking services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division. The company offers commercial and retail checking, regular interest-bearing savings, money market, individual retirement, and certificates of deposit accounts. It also provides commercial real estate, residential real estate mortgage, agricultural, and commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans, including motor vehicle, home improvement, and home equity loans, as well as loans secured by savings accounts and personal credit lines. In addition, the company originates, administers, and services commercial insurance premium loans, equipment finance loans, and small business administration loans. It operates full service domestic banking offices, and mortgage and loan production offices. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

About Sberbank of Russia

Sberbank of Russia, together with its subsidiaries, provides corporate and retail banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, corporate clients, and financial institutions. The company offers deposit products; pension accounts; payment, transfer, brokerage, and asset management services; car, housing, education, and consumer loans; mortgages; debit and credit cards, and overdraft service; and refinancing products. It also provides derivative, financial instrument, foreign currency, precious metal, corporate structured, and commodities and securities products, as well as debt and capital markets funding, documentary, and other commission services. In addition, it offers life, property, bank card, accident, liability, trust management, investment and universal life, travel, and mutual investment funds insurance products, as well as individual pension plans and corporate pension programs. Additionally, the company provides business bank accounts, platform for exporters and importers, merchant acquiring and international trading services, and corporate cards for small businesses; and loans, investment products and capital markets services, fund investment services, and banking services for corporate clients. It also provides trade finance, interbank lending, currency risk hedging, and treasury services; deposits, custody services, and electronic trading systems; and settlement and cash collection services to financial institutions. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 11 Regional banks and 14,162 branches in Russia. The company also has operations in 18 countries internationally. Sberbank of Russia was founded in 1841 and is headquartered in Moscow, Russia.