Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Director Sells $559,280.00 in Stock

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCBGet Free Report) Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of ABCB stock traded down $1.82 on Thursday, hitting $69.32. 626,828 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,826. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $38.71 and a one year high of $71.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.82 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCBGet Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.67.

Check Out Our Latest Report on ABCB

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $311,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,566 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,903,000 after acquiring an additional 3,005 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 23,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,472,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,861,000 after acquiring an additional 12,054 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

(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.

Further Reading

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