FY2024 EPS Estimate for Ameris Bancorp Increased by Analyst

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) - Equities research analysts at DA Davidson upped their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report issued on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $4.82 for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.75. The consensus estimate for Ameris Bancorp's current full-year earnings is $4.83 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Ameris Bancorp's Q4 2024 earnings at $1.17 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.15 EPS.

ABCB has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, 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 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 an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB traded up $0.86 on Friday, reaching $62.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,579,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 371,025. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $44.00 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm's 50 day moving average is $66.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.01. The stock has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank's stock worth $56,596,000 after purchasing an additional 79,060 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,735,000 after buying an additional 72,599 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 135.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,187,000 after buying an additional 66,287 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 208.0% during the third quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 83,393 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,203,000 after acquiring an additional 56,320 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank's stock valued at $78,829,000 after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. 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.