Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Lifted to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Stephens restated an equal weight rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 26th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a buy rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of ABCB opened at $48.03 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $28.33 and a fifty-two week high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day moving average of $46.63 and a 200 day moving average of $46.41.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.86 EPS. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 276,624 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,675,000 after acquiring an additional 18,090 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 178,961 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $6,870,000 after buying an additional 80,466 shares during the last quarter. Prospector Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,924,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 687,567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,396,000 after acquiring an additional 38,863 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. 91.64% of the stock is 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.