Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Raised to Outperform at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $67.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB opened at $61.99 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $61.82 and its 200-day moving average is $55.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $36.81 and a twelve month high of $66.51.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 19.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 130.7% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,169 shares of the bank’s stock worth $589,000 after purchasing an additional 6,895 shares in the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 19.5% in the first quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE now owns 109,772 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 17,916 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 75.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 416,557 shares of the bank’s stock worth $20,153,000 after acquiring an additional 178,500 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $278,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 181.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,029 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,517,000 after purchasing an additional 33,531 shares during the last quarter. 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.