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

Key Points

• Analysts give Ameris Bancorp an average rating of Moderate Buy (four buys, two holds) with a mean 1‑year price target of $86.50, and several brokerages recently raised targets — including Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to $88 and DA Davidson to $94.
• In the most recent quarter Ameris reported $1.59 EPS, beating estimates by $0.03 while revenue was roughly in line, and sell‑side analysts expect about 4.99 EPS for the current year.
• Shares trade near $82.79 with a $5.65B market cap and a P/E of 15.9; the bank pays a $0.20 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.80, ~1.0% yield) and institutional investors own roughly 91.6% of the stock.

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $86.50.

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABCB. Truist Financial upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson set a $94.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 2nd.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of ABCB opened at $82.79 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $51.87 and a 52 week high of $87.98. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $79.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.13.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The firm had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank's stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 13,633 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

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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