Head to Head Comparison: Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) and Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT)

Eagle Bancorp Montana (NASDAQ:EBMT) and Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, earnings, risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends and valuation.

Risk and Volatility

Eagle Bancorp Montana has a beta of 0.37, meaning that its stock price is 63% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Eagle Bancorp Montana and Ameris Bancorp, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Eagle Bancorp Montana	0	3	1	0	2.25
Ameris Bancorp	0	4	4	0	2.50

Eagle Bancorp Montana presently has a consensus target price of $23.50, suggesting a potential upside of 10.80%. Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $90.50, suggesting a potential upside of 9.95%. Given Eagle Bancorp Montana’s higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Eagle Bancorp Montana is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Dividends

Eagle Bancorp Montana pays an annual dividend of $0.59 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Eagle Bancorp Montana pays out 30.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.0% 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. Eagle Bancorp Montana has increased its dividend for 14 consecutive years. Eagle Bancorp Montana is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and Ameris Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Eagle Bancorp Montana	12.03%	7.96%	0.73%
Ameris Bancorp	22.47%	10.81%	1.57%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

35.7% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.8% of Eagle Bancorp Montana shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.7% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Eagle Bancorp Montana and Ameris Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Eagle Bancorp Montana	$127.08 million	1.33	$14.84 million	$1.96	10.82
Ameris Bancorp	$1.67 billion	3.32	$412.15 million	$5.72	14.39

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Eagle Bancorp Montana. Eagle Bancorp Montana is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Ameris Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Eagle Bancorp Montana on 13 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Eagle Bancorp Montana

Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Opportunity Bank of Montana that provides various retail banking products and services to small businesses and individuals in Montana. It accepts various deposit products, such as checking, savings, money market, and individual retirement accounts, as well as certificates of deposit accounts. The company also provides 1-4 family residential mortgage loans, such as residential mortgages and construction of residential properties; commercial real estate loans, including multi-family dwellings, nonresidential property, commercial construction and development, and farmland loans; and second mortgage/home equity loans. In addition, it offers consumer loans, such as loans secured by collateral other than real estate, such as automobiles, recreational vehicles, and boats; personal loans and lines of credit; commercial business loans consisting of business loans and lines of credit on a secured and unsecured basis; construction loans; agricultural loans; and mortgage loan services. The company operates full-service branches and automated teller machines. Eagle Bancorp Montana, Inc. was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Helena, Montana.

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.