Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $66.67.

A number of research analysts recently commented on ABCB shares. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $0.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $70.28. 269,583 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 395,914. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $65.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $58.31. The company has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $42.25 and a 52-week high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value 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. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,374,719 shares of the bank's stock worth $220,263,000 after buying an additional 45,240 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% in the second quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,533,580 shares of the bank's stock worth $127,566,000 after acquiring an additional 19,287 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank's stock worth $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank's stock valued at $56,596,000 after purchasing an additional 79,060 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,861,000 after purchasing an additional 12,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

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.