Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $65.67 and last traded at $65.67, with a volume of 55893 shares. The stock had previously closed at $63.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the company. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $273.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.91 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.93%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $3,869,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 75.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 416,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,153,000 after buying an additional 178,500 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $1,154,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.5% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 767,156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,115,000 after buying an additional 40,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 218.6% during the first quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 22,363 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 15,343 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.