Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• Ameris Bancorp hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $87.99 (last $87.44), while multiple analysts raised targets and the stock carries a consensus "Moderate Buy" with a mean price target of $90.17.
• Quarterly results beat estimates: Ameris reported $1.63 EPS vs $1.54 expected and $314.36M revenue vs $309.58M expected, with a 9.57% ROE and 21.46% net margin.
• Dividend and ownership profile: the company pays a $0.20 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.80, ~0.9% yield, DPR ~12.6%) and institutional investors hold roughly 91.6% of shares.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $87.99 and last traded at $87.4360, with a volume of 100753 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $86.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ABCB shares. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.17.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.8%

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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.86 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.14. The firm has a market cap of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75 and a beta of 0.93.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The business had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.