Brokerages Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) PT at $69.17

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment 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 brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.17.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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, Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $62.57 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.00 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $66.64 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.08.

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

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its position 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 worth $120,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares during the period. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth $143,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 105.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.