Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

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 firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $71.43.

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

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of ABCB stock traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $60.90. The stock had a trading volume of 34,383 shares, compared to its average volume of 395,791. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $45.89 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm's 50-day moving average is $56.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.87.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict 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 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 14.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the bank's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,975 shares of the bank's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,020 shares of the bank's stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

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.