Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $90.50.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $881,798,000. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% during 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 in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 0.9% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,202,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,619 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,463,000 after purchasing an additional 90,883 shares during the period. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $56,124,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $81.69 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $83.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $69.58 and a 1 year high of $93.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28 and a beta of 0.99.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.99%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.