Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.20

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, December 18th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of 0.20 per share by the bank on Monday, January 6th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15.

Ameris Bancorp has a payout ratio of 11.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Ameris Bancorp to earn $4.98 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.60 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 12.0%.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB stock traded down $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $61.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 412,822 shares, compared to its average volume of 366,092. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.82 and a 200 day moving average of $60.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.00 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.17.

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.