Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Downgraded by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB opened at $62.72 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.26 and a 12-month high of $66.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.53. The company has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.26 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 19.28%. The business had revenue of $436.03 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.91 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 6.1% in the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 38,052 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,374,000 after buying an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at about $233,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 105.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.