Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) versus Surrey Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SRYB) Critical Comparison

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

Volatility and Risk

Surrey Bancorp has a beta of 0.65, suggesting that its stock price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 1, suggesting that its stock price has a similar volatility profile to the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Surrey Bancorp and Ameris Bancorp”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Surrey Bancorp	$16.20 million	4.23	$5.10 million	$1.52	10.99
Ameris Bancorp	$1.16 billion	4.37	$358.68 million	$5.78	12.80

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

Institutional & Insider Ownership

3.7% of Surrey Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. 33.7% of Surrey Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Surrey Bancorp and Ameris Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Surrey Bancorp	0	0	0	0	0.00
Ameris Bancorp	0	2	5	0	2.71

Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $78.57, indicating a potential upside of 6.21%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Surrey Bancorp.

Dividends

Surrey Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Surrey Bancorp pays out 31.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 13.8% 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Surrey Bancorp	37.97%	N/A	N/A
Ameris Bancorp	21.46%	9.57%	1.32%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Surrey Bancorp on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Surrey Bancorp

Surrey BanCorp engages in the provision of banking solutions through its subsidiaries, Surrey Bank & Trust . It offers checking accounts, savings, deposit services, mortgages, real estate loans, commercial credit products, business checking, and electronic banking. The company was founded on May 1, 2003 and is headquartered in Mount Airy, NC.

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.