Ameris Bancorp's (ABCB) Equal Weight Rating Reaffirmed at Stephens

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "equal weight" rating reiterated by Stephens in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $63.00 price objective on the bank's stock. Stephens' price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.20% from the stock's previous close.

ABCB has been the subject of several other research reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler Companies upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 2.6 %

NASDAQ:ABCB traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $60.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 390,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 397,229. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.87. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.62 and a 200-day moving average of $62.50. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $45.89 and a 52-week 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 the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ABCB. 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 worth $59,570,000 after purchasing an additional 223,805 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd 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 during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $49,385,000 after acquiring an additional 19,150 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 158.2% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $385,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.