Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with four buy ratings and two hold ratings among six covering analysts. The average 12-month price target is about $90.17.
• The bank beat first-quarter earnings expectations, reporting $1.63 EPS versus the $1.54 consensus estimate, while revenue also came in above forecasts at $314.36 million.
• Ameris Bancorp recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 per share, which annualizes to $0.80 and implies a dividend yield of about 0.9%.

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $90.1667.

ABCB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,707 shares of the bank's stock valued at $835,000 after acquiring an additional 725 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 523,030 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,791,000 after acquiring an additional 41,046 shares in the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3,727.3% during the 1st quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,210 shares of the bank's stock valued at $328,000 after acquiring an additional 4,100 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank's stock valued at $82,463,000 after acquiring an additional 90,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 6,188.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 18,236 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 17,946 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $86.60 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $59.54 and a 12-month high of $87.99. The business's fifty day moving average is $80.15 and its 200 day moving average is $78.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.62 and a beta of 0.93.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The company had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $309.58 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.58%.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.

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