Bay Banks of Virginia (OTCMKTS:BAYK) and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Head to Head Survey

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

Profitability

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Bay Banks of Virginia’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%
Bay Banks of Virginia	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of current recommendations and price targets for Ameris Bancorp and Bay Banks of Virginia, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Ameris Bancorp	0	1	4	1	3.00
Bay Banks of Virginia	0	0	0	0	0.00

Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus target price of $77.33, suggesting a potential upside of 6.17%. Given Ameris Bancorp’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts clearly believe Ameris Bancorp is more favorable than Bay Banks of Virginia.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Ameris Bancorp and Bay Banks of Virginia”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Ameris Bancorp	$1.16 billion	4.30	$358.68 million	$5.78	12.60
Bay Banks of Virginia	$55.38 million	2.27	$7.06 million	N/A	N/A

Ameris Bancorp has higher revenue and earnings than Bay Banks of Virginia.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

91.6% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 5.4% of Ameris Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of Bay Banks of Virginia 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.

Summary

Ameris Bancorp beats Bay Banks of Virginia on 11 of the 12 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 Bay Banks of Virginia

Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides various banking products and services to businesses, professionals, and consumers in Virginia. The company accepts checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, cash management accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts. Its loan products include commercial and industrial loans, such as small business loans, asset based loans, and other secured and unsecured loans and lines of credit; purchased loans; residential and commercial mortgages; home equity loans; consumer installment loans; and consumer loans comprising automobile and boat financing, home improvement loans, and unsecured personal loans. The company also provides credit cards; and insurance, online banking, telephone banking, mobile banking, analysis checking, cash management deposit, wire, direct deposit payroll, lockbox, positive pay, and remote deposit services, as well as a line of commercial lending options. In addition, it offers management services, including estate planning and settlement, as well as trust administration, investment, and wealth management services; and revocable and irrevocable living trusts, testamentary trusts, custodial accounts, investment planning, brokerage services, investment managed accounts, and managed and self-directed rollover individual retirement accounts for personal and corporate trusts. As of March 9, 2020, the company operated 17 banking offices located throughout greater Richmond region, the Northern Neck region, Middlesex County, and the Hampton Roads region. Bay Banks of Virginia, Inc. was founded in 1930 and is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia.