Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given New $88.00 Price Target at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) had its target price boosted by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $88.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the bank’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $94.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $79.92 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $48.27 and a 12 month high of $83.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $77.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.01. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 15.34 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Monday, October 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 13,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 16.8% during the third quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 394,563 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,925,000 after purchasing an additional 56,852 shares during the period. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $1,663,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,336,000 after buying an additional 13,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 969,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,087,000 after buying an additional 26,639 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.