Reviewing Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) & Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and Associated Banc (NYSE:ASB) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation and earnings.

Dividends

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Associated Banc pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 15.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Associated Banc pays out 116.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Associated Banc has increased its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Associated Banc is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Ameris Bancorp and Associated Banc, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0	1	5	0	2.83
Associated Banc	0	9	0	0	2.00

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $70.50, indicating a potential upside of 8.55%. Associated Banc has a consensus target price of $27.00, indicating a potential upside of 7.42%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Associated Banc.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Associated Banc”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.67 billion	2.68	$358.68 million	$5.21	12.47
Associated Banc	$2.39 billion	1.75	$123.14 million	$0.79	31.82

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

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 83.0% of Associated Banc shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.5% of Associated Banc shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Associated Banc’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%
Associated Banc	5.15%	8.24%	0.82%

Volatility & Risk

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Associated Banc has a beta of 0.94, indicating that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Associated Banc on 13 of the 17 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 Associated Banc

Associated Banc-Corp, a bank holding company, provides various banking and nonbanking products to individuals and businesses in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota. The company offers lending solutions, including commercial loans and lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, letters of credit, leasing, asset based lending and equipment finance, loan syndications products, residential mortgages, home equity loans and lines of credit, personal and installment loans, auto finance and business loans, and business lines of credit. It also provides deposit and cash management solutions, such as commercial checking and interest-bearing deposit products, cash vault and night depository services, liquidity solutions, payables and receivables solutions, and information services; specialized financial services, such as interest rate risk management and foreign exchange solutions; fiduciary services, such as administration of pension, profit-sharing and other employee benefit plans, fiduciary and corporate agency services, and institutional asset management services; and investable funds solutions, including savings, money market deposit accounts, IRA accounts, CDs, fixed and variable annuities, full-service, discount, and online investment brokerage; investment advisory services; and trust and investment management accounts. In addition, the company offers deposit and transactional solutions, including checking, credit, debit and pre-paid cards, online banking and bill pay; and money transfer services. Associated Banc-Corp was founded in 1861 and is headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin.