Piper Sandler Initiates Coverage on Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in a research note released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $74.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.33.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 2.7 %

ABCB stock opened at $50.64 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.70 and its 200-day moving average is $63.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.87. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.36%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange acquired 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. GTS Securities LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $287,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 16.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 173,391 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,849,000 after acquiring an additional 25,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Twinbeech Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,300,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.