Analysts Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Target Price at $69.17

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.17.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank's stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,359 shares of the bank's stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 14.2% during the third quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,236 shares of the bank's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Thursday, hitting $63.96. The company had a trading volume of 241,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 369,488. The business has a 50 day moving average of $66.68 and a 200 day moving average of $60.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.03. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $44.00 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

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.