Brokerages Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Target Price at $72.29

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $71.43.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler Companies lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 2.6 %

ABCB stock opened at $60.46 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $56.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.53. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $45.89 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.87.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. Ameris Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange acquired 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.