Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Upgraded to "Outperform" by Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm currently has $67.00 price objective on the bank's stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on ABCB. Stephens boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. StockNews.com downgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 3.2 %

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $1.93 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $63.18. 387,474 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 361,291. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.36 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $61.54 and a 200-day moving average of $54.80. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $34.76 and a 52-week high of $66.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 8.97%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 14.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 75.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 416,557 shares of the bank's stock valued at $20,153,000 after acquiring an additional 178,500 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,560,371 shares of the bank's stock valued at $365,771,000 after purchasing an additional 92,491 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,869,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 164.8% during the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 119,164 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,765,000 after buying an additional 74,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter worth $2,462,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.