CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) vs. Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Head-To-Head Contrast

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) and CVB Financial (NASDAQ:CVBF) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, profitability, dividends, valuation, risk, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility & Risk

Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 1.01, indicating that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, CVB Financial has a beta of 0.44, indicating that its share price is 56% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.52 billion	3.21	$269.11 million	$4.80	14.77
CVB Financial	$665.66 million	5.00	$221.43 million	$1.43	16.66

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Ameris Bancorp and CVB Financial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0	1	5	0	2.83
CVB Financial	0	4	2	0	2.33

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $66.67, suggesting a potential downside of 5.96%. CVB Financial has a consensus target price of $20.80, suggesting a potential downside of 12.72%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than CVB Financial.

Dividends

Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. CVB Financial pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays out 12.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. CVB Financial pays out 55.9% 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.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.2% of CVB Financial shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.5% of Ameris Bancorp shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 6.0% of CVB Financial 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.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Ameris Bancorp	20.08%	9.18%	1.25%
CVB Financial	28.29%	9.80%	1.30%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats CVB Financial 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 CVB Financial

CVB Financial Corp. operates as a bank holding company for Citizens Business Bank, a state-chartered bank that provides banking and financial services to small to mid-sized businesses and individuals. It offers checking, savings, money market, and time certificates of deposit products for business and personal accounts; and serves as a federal tax depository for business customers. The company also provides commercial lending products comprising lines of credit and other working capital financing, accounts receivable lending, and letters of credit; agriculture loans to finance the operating needs of wholesale dairy farm operations, cattle feeders, livestock raisers, and farmers; lease financing services for municipal governments; commercial real estate and construction loans; and consumer financing products, including automobile leasing and financing, lines of credit, credit cards, home mortgages, and home equity loans and lines of credit. In addition, it offers various specialized services, such as treasury management systems for monitoring cash flow, merchant card processing program, armored pick-up and delivery, payroll services, remote deposit capture, electronic funds transfers, wires and automated clearinghouse, and online account access. Further, the company provides trust services, such as fiduciary services, mutual funds, annuities, 401(k) plans, and individual investment accounts. CVB Financial Corp. was founded in 1974 and is headquartered in Ontario, California.