Analysts Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) PT at $71.43

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.43.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James reduced their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of ABCB traded down $0.90 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.76. 125,360 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,162. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $45.89 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.91. The business's 50-day moving average price is $57.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.23.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. The firm had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $276.06 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,735,000 after acquiring an additional 72,599 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2,768.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,292,000 after buying an additional 66,000 shares during the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $200,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank's stock worth $69,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 53.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,987 shares of the bank's stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by 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.