Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Plans $0.15 Quarterly Dividend

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, June 21st, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Sunday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of 0.15 per share by the bank on Monday, July 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 28th.

Ameris Bancorp has a payout ratio of 12.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Ameris Bancorp to earn $4.89 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.3%.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded down $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $47.72. 1,011,254 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 349,459. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.66 and a beta of 1.06. The business has a 50-day moving average of $48.03 and a 200 day moving average of $48.50. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $32.74 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $267.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.86 EPS. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

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.