Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $84.67 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $79.66 and its 200 day moving average is $77.59. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $55.21 and a one year high of $87.98. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.25 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.2% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,737,028 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $203,279,000 after purchasing an additional 755,967 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 134.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 931,911 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,318,000 after buying an additional 534,830 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 64.5% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 869,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,594,000 after buying an additional 341,108 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 97.2% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 670,312 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $49,141,000 after buying an additional 330,427 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $10,528,000. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson set a $94.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.