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

by · The Markets Daily

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

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ABCB

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock opened at $61.99 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.81 and a 52-week high of $66.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $61.82 and its 200-day simple moving average is $55.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 19.28%. The firm had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid 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 currently 12.50%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,560,371 shares of the bank’s stock worth $365,771,000 after buying an additional 92,491 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,374,719 shares of the bank’s stock worth $220,263,000 after acquiring an additional 45,240 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% in the second quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,533,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $127,566,000 after acquiring an additional 19,287 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 851,240 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,860,000 after purchasing an additional 13,418 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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