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 rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $71.43.

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

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded up $0.30 during trading on Thursday, hitting $60.96. 571,172 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 402,698. The firm has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.70 and a beta of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $59.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $47.65 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,819 shares of the bank's stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $496,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 35,689 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,233,000 after acquiring an additional 628 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the bank's stock worth $243,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 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.