DA Davidson Comments on Ameris Bancorp’s FY2024 Earnings (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) – Research analysts at DA Davidson boosted their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Ameris Bancorp in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 30th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the bank will earn $4.75 per share for the year, up from their prior forecast of $4.65. DA Davidson currently has a “Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Ameris Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $4.55 per share.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.4 %

ABCB opened at $48.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.04. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $28.33 and a one year high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $46.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $46.42.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 18.06%. 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 firm posted $0.86 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 276,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,675,000 after purchasing an additional 18,090 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 81.7% in the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 178,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,870,000 after buying an additional 80,466 shares in the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,924,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 687,567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,396,000 after acquiring an additional 38,863 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were 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 $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 14.60%.

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.