Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $92.6667.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on ABCB shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Piper Sandler lowered Ameris Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $96.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $89.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $87.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.24. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $64.64 and a 12 month high of $93.22. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.91. 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 (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.06). Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $317.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.59 EPS. Analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth $45,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth $51,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 316.9% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.