StockNews.com Upgrades Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) to Hold

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on ABCB. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson reissued a buy rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued an equal weight rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $48.50 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.34. The stock has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.05.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 14.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $39,787,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 845,390 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,848,000 after purchasing an additional 283,138 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4,193.6% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 229,408 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,163,000 after acquiring an additional 224,065 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,193,610 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,473,000 after purchasing an additional 205,750 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,514,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,383,000 after buying an additional 201,644 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.