Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Outperform Rating at Raymond James

Raymond James reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in a report issued on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $71.00 target price on the bank’s stock, up from their previous target price of $67.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on ABCB. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.5 %

ABCB opened at $67.88 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $64.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.23. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.06. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $44.22 and a 52 week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 47.8% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 2,842 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $178,000 after purchasing an additional 919 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 241,820 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $15,131,000 after purchasing an additional 13,917 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $1,585,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.