Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) Stock Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Brokerages

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eight ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $90.50.

ABCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings started coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. DA Davidson lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Stephens set a $88.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 27th.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $82.31 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $69.58 and a 52-week high of $93.22. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.67. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.39 and a beta of 0.96.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $320.94 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.72 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 22.47% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.54 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $881,798,000. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,124,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $47,291,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,419,000. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) is a bank holding company and the parent company of Ameris Bank, a full-service financial institution serving individuals, businesses and communities primarily across the southeastern United States.

Ameris Bank offers a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management and wealth management services.