Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Hits New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $88.20 and last traded at $88.3110, with a volume of 11642 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $86.56.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ABCB. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.17.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.7%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $83.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.45. The company has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95 and a beta of 0.91.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The business had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.58 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.58%.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $62,673,000. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.2% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,270,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 134.7% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 31.3% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,214 shares of the bank’s stock worth $129,320,000 after buying an additional 414,920 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.