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

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.17.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $143,000. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 105.8% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the bank’s stock worth $168,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $63.58 on Thursday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.00 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.25 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 16.67%.

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.