Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given “Equal Weight” Rating at Stephens

Stephens reiterated their equal weight rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $63.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on ABCB. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $59.21 on Tuesday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $45.89 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.55. 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 (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.06 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange acquired 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,975 shares of the bank’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,020 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.