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

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.37 and last traded at $73.87, with a volume of 25960 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $71.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of a number of research reports. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.77. The stock has a market cap of $4.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional 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 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.