Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Receives $69.17 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the six brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $69.17.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,374,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $220,263,000 after acquiring an additional 45,240 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,533,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $127,566,000 after purchasing an additional 19,287 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,596,000 after buying an additional 79,060 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,861,000 after buying an additional 12,054 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $63.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 13.14 and a beta of 1.03. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $44.00 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $66.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.67%.

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.