Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $66.67.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target 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.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.9 %

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $70.28 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $42.25 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.25. 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 company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The firm 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 period last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.50%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company’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 value of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank’s stock worth $56,596,000 after acquiring an additional 79,060 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 72,599 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 135.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,187,000 after purchasing an additional 66,287 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 208.0% in the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 83,393 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,203,000 after purchasing an additional 56,320 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after buying an additional 55,473 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently 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.