Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $70.24 and last traded at $70.09, with a volume of 25337 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $62.57.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $62.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 130.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 6,895 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $278,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 181.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 33,531 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 56,626 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,740,000 after buying an additional 554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,154,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

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.