Brokerages Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) PT at $66.67

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $69.17.

Several research firms have commented on ABCB. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.8 %

ABCB stock opened at $69.39 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.98. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $44.00 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.46 and a beta of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released 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. The business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.