Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Hits New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $65.67 and last traded at $65.67, with a volume of 55893 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $63.90.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.05. The company has a market capitalization of $4.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $436.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.67 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 8.97%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 14.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,467,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,171,000 after acquiring an additional 33,386 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $480,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 767,156 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,115,000 after buying an additional 40,323 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 130.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 6,895 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 109,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 17,916 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.