StockNews.com Upgrades Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) to “Hold”

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an equal weight rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, DA Davidson reiterated a buy rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $48.03 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $28.33 and a 52 week 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 $3.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $46.63 and a 200-day moving average of $46.41.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of Ameris Bancorp 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $203,000. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $205,000. Finally, KLR Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter worth $209,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.