Piper Sandler Increases Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Price Target to $57.00

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) had its price target lifted by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $55.00 to $57.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective points to a potential upside of 20.05% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 15th. StockNews.com cut Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 2.1 %

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $47.48 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $46.61 and its 200 day moving average is $46.34.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The firm had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $355,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,467,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,171,000 after purchasing an additional 33,386 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,193,610 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,473,000 after buying an additional 205,750 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,547,134 shares of the bank’s stock worth $97,784,000 after buying an additional 90,694 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,514,293 shares of the bank’s stock worth $133,383,000 after acquiring an additional 201,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,254,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,712,000 after acquiring an additional 36,873 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.