Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.67.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, September 26th. Raymond James Financial lowered Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens set a $88.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $881,798,000. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,423,243 shares of the bank’s stock worth $266,979,000 after acquiring an additional 686,215 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,202,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $95,654,000 after acquiring an additional 10,619 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank’s stock worth $82,463,000 after acquiring an additional 90,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $56,124,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of ABCB opened at $78.86 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.29 billion, a PE ratio of 14.26 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $84.27 and its 200 day moving average is $85.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $68.80 and a fifty-two week high of $93.22.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.06). Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.98% and a return on equity of 10.62%. The business had revenue of $317.78 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.78 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 14.47%.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) is a financial holding company whose principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, provides banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and institutions. The bank offers deposit accounts, commercial and consumer lending, residential mortgages, treasury and payment services, wealth management and other financial solutions.

Founded in 1971, Ameris Bank has grown from a community banking institution in Georgia into a regional bank serving customers across the southeastern United States.