Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.1667.

ABCB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the bank’s stock worth $468,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 9,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $696,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,054 shares of the bank’s stock worth $672,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the bank’s stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EJF Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 5,754 shares of the bank’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $82.83 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $82.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.87. 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 one year low of $59.54 and a one year high of $87.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.90 and a beta of 0.91.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

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.