Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $82.19 and traded as high as $90.23. Ameris Bancorp shares last traded at $89.7870, with a volume of 348,156 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $96.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.67.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $6.08 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $86.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.25.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% in the first quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,423,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,979,000 after purchasing an additional 686,215 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,199,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $238,250,000 after purchasing an additional 12,475 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,320,000 after buying an additional 414,920 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,436 shares of the bank’s stock worth $92,256,000 after buying an additional 39,478 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,083,272 shares of the bank’s stock worth $80,455,000 after buying an additional 14,735 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.