Critical Analysis: Surrey Bancorp (OTCMKTS:SRYB) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

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

Risk and Volatility

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

Valuation and Earnings

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

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

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.

Profitability

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Surrey Bancorp’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%
Surrey Bancorp	37.97%	N/A	N/A

Dividends

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

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

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Ameris Bancorp and Surrey Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.

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

Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus target price of $78.57, suggesting a potential upside of 6.21%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Surrey Bancorp.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Surrey Bancorp on 13 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 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.