Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the five research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.20.

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $54.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $56.32 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $52.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.37. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $34.26 and a 1 year high of $64.88.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $436.03 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $273.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 14.60%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $891,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 56,626 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,740,000 after purchasing an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,931 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,809,000 after acquiring an additional 593 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.