Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson set a $94.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $671,000 after buying an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,767,000 after acquiring an additional 13,633 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 6.1%

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $77.55 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $5.30 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.99. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $48.27 and a 52-week high of $87.98.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $309.92 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.48 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 business earned $1.38 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.33%.

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.