Raymond James Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Stock Price

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) had its target price lowered by equities research analysts at Raymond James from $71.00 to $65.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the bank's stock. Raymond James' price target would suggest a potential upside of 7.50% from the stock's current price.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ABCB. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB traded up $1.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.46. The stock had a trading volume of 390,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 396,908. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $45.89 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $56.62 and a 200 day moving average of $62.53. The company has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.87.

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

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,570,000 after purchasing an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,829,000 after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,385,000 after acquiring an additional 19,150 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 158.2% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 40,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 24,680 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.