Analyzing Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS)

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and MetroCity Bankshares (NASDAQ:MCBS) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, dividends, profitability, valuation, risk and earnings.

Risk & Volatility

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 1.01, suggesting that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MetroCity Bankshares has a beta of 0.6, suggesting that its stock price is 40% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current recommendations for Ameris Bancorp and MetroCity Bankshares, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0	1	4	0	2.80
MetroCity Bankshares	0	1	0	0	2.00

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus price target of $67.00, indicating a potential upside of 8.57%. MetroCity Bankshares has a consensus price target of $32.00, indicating a potential upside of 9.22%. Given MetroCity Bankshares’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe MetroCity Bankshares is more favorable than Ameris Bancorp.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.06 billion	4.01	$269.11 million	$4.11	15.01
MetroCity Bankshares	$124.92 million	5.91	$51.61 million	$1.97	14.87

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

Dividends

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. MetroCity Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.7%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MetroCity Bankshares pays out 40.6% 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.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 25.3% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 27.5% of MetroCity Bankshares shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and MetroCity Bankshares’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	19.28%	8.97%	1.20%
MetroCity Bankshares	24.20%	13.85%	1.52%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats MetroCity Bankshares on 9 of the 16 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 MetroCity Bankshares

MetroCity Bankshares, Inc. operates as the bank holding company for Metro City Bank that engages in the provision of banking products and services in the United States. It offers customary banking services, such as consumer and commercial checking accounts, savings, and money market accounts, as well as certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial and consumer loans, including single family residential loans; construction and development, and owner and non-owner occupied commercial real estate loans; letters of credit; and commercial and industrial loans, residential mortgage loans, and SBA loans. In addition, it offers online banking services, which include access to account balances, online transfers, online bill payment, and electronic delivery of customer statements; mobile banking solutions, such as remote check deposit with mobile bill pay; and automated teller machines and telephone banking services. Further, it provides debit cards for checking customers, direct deposits, and cashier's checks; treasury management services, including wire transfer, automated clearing house, and stop payments services; and cash management deposit products, such as remote deposit capture, positive pay, zero balance accounts, and sweep accounts. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.