Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Ameris Bancorp shares crossed above their 50-day moving average, trading as high as $83.92 and last quoted at $83.35; the 50-day average is $82.16.
• Analyst sentiment is moderately positive: four analysts rate the stock Buy and four Hold, with a consensus price target of $90.50. Recent target changes were mixed, including cuts from Piper Sandler and DA Davidson.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $1.73, beating the $1.68 estimate, while revenue of $320.94 million fell short of expectations; revenue nevertheless grew 2.4% year over year.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB - Get Free Report)'s share price crossed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.16 and traded as high as $83.92. Ameris Bancorp shares last traded at $83.3540, with a volume of 496,951 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 24th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Stephens set a $88.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average price is $82.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $83.76. The firm has a market cap of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.57 and a beta of 0.99.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $320.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.72 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 22.47% and a return on equity of 10.81%. The company's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.63 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.99%.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $881,798,000. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% in the first quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,423,243 shares of the bank's stock valued at $266,979,000 after purchasing an additional 686,215 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 0.9% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,202,889 shares of the bank's stock worth $95,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,619 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,463,000 after purchasing an additional 90,883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $56,124,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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