Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Price Target Increased to $57.00 by Analysts at Piper Sandler

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) had its price objective increased by Piper Sandler from $55.00 to $57.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the bank’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameris Bancorp from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB opened at $48.50 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $53.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.61 and a 200 day moving average of $46.34.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $267.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.05 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 18.06%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.60%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $355,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $203,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $205,000. Finally, KLR Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. 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.