Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB – Get Free Report) and Suncrest Bank (OTCMKTS:SBKK – Get Free Report) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations.
Profitability
This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Suncrest Bank’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% |
| Suncrest Bank | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Analyst Ratings
This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ameris Bancorp and Suncrest Bank, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Ameris Bancorp | 0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 3.00 |
| Suncrest Bank | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
Institutional and Insider Ownership
91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 5.9% of Suncrest Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.
Earnings and Valuation
This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Suncrest Bank”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Ameris Bancorp | $1.13 billion | 4.46 | $358.68 million | $5.68 | 12.90 |
| Suncrest Bank | $46.73 million | 4.92 | $16.96 million | $1.37 | 13.56 |
Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Suncrest Bank. Ameris Bancorp is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Suncrest Bank, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Volatility & Risk
Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Suncrest Bank has a beta of 0.88, meaning that its share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500.
Summary
Ameris Bancorp beats Suncrest Bank on 14 of the 15 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 Suncrest Bank
Suncrest Bank engages in the provision of personal and commercial banking services. It provides checking, savings and certificates of deposits, lending, cash management, online and mobile banking, e-statements, remote deposit capture, financial calculators, and customer service center. It also offers agricultural real estate loans, production finance, equipment financing and leasing, development loans, long-term fixed rate, SBA and USDA loans, valley small business guaranteed loans, USDA B&I loans, farmer mac loans, and cal-cap loans. The company was founded on May 19, 2008 and is headquartered in Visalia, CA.
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