Brokerages Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) PT at $70.50

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $70.50.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABCB. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $158,490,000 after buying an additional 208,000 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,401,000 after purchasing an additional 10,256 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,861,000 after purchasing an additional 12,054 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $64.95 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.22 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.47 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.72.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 15.36%.

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.