Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) Stock Price Breaks Above Fifty Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) passed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.56 and traded as high as $83.63. Ameris Bancorp shares last traded at $82.7810, with a volume of 390,548 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stephens set a $88.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.96.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $320.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.72 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 22.47%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 13.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $243,000. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cahaba Wealth Management Inc. now owns 17,159 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gibbs Wealth Management now owns 13,132 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 6.0% in the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,988 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the period. Finally, Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) is a bank holding company and the parent company of Ameris Bank, a full-service financial institution serving individuals, businesses and communities primarily across the southeastern United States.

Ameris Bank offers a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management and wealth management services.