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

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $67.00.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABCB shares. Stephens upped 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, July 29th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $63.61 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.48 and a beta of 1.02. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $59.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.21. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.26 and a twelve month high of $65.40.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 8.97%. The firm had revenue of $436.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.67 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. CWM LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $143,000. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.