Analyzing Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) & Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY)

Intesa Sanpaolo (OTCMKTS:ISNPY) and Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) are both finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation, earnings and dividends.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Intesa Sanpaolo and Ameris Bancorp, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intesa Sanpaolo	0	2	4	1	2.86
Ameris Bancorp	0	4	4	0	2.50

Ameris Bancorp has a consensus target price of $91.67, indicating a potential upside of 14.66%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Intesa Sanpaolo.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

1.2% of Intesa Sanpaolo shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.7% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Risk and Volatility

Intesa Sanpaolo has a beta of 0.81, suggesting that its stock price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Ameris Bancorp has a beta of 0.96, suggesting that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Intesa Sanpaolo and Ameris Bancorp”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intesa Sanpaolo	$43.96 billion	2.94	$10.54 billion	$3.72	11.80
Ameris Bancorp	$1.67 billion	3.22	$412.15 million	$5.53	14.46

Intesa Sanpaolo has higher revenue and earnings than Ameris Bancorp. Intesa Sanpaolo 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

Intesa Sanpaolo pays an annual dividend of $1.91 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. Ameris Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Intesa Sanpaolo pays out 51.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Ameris Bancorp pays out 14.5% 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 Intesa Sanpaolo and Ameris Bancorp’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intesa Sanpaolo	25.19%	14.10%	1.02%
Ameris Bancorp	21.98%	10.62%	1.55%

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Intesa Sanpaolo on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Intesa Sanpaolo

Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. provides various financial products and services primarily in Italy. It operates through six segments: Banca dei Territori, IMI Corporate & Investment Banking, International Subsidiary Banks, Asset Management, Private Banking, and Insurance. The company offers lending and deposit products; private and commercial banking, corporate and transaction banking, structured finance, investment banking, public finance, and capital markets; industrial credit, leasing, and factoring; asset management; life and non-life insurance and pension products; asset and wealth management; private investments; and bancassurance products. The company serves individuals, small and medium-sized businesses, non-profit customers, corporates and financial institutions, public administration, private clients and high net worth individuals, institutional clientele, and other customers. Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Turin, Italy.

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.