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

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $63.20.

ABCB has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $39,787,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 50.4% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 845,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,848,000 after buying an additional 283,138 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4,193.6% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 229,408 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,163,000 after buying an additional 224,065 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,193,610 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,473,000 after acquiring an additional 205,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,514,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,383,000 after acquiring an additional 201,644 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.8 %

ABCB traded down $0.51 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $61.20. 73,260 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,978. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $34.26 and a fifty-two week high of $64.88. 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 company has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $49.05.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $436.03 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $273.67 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 8.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 14.60%.

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.