Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $90.27 and last traded at $90.4020, with a volume of 9093 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $89.32.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on ABCB. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $309.58 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,423,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,979,000 after buying an additional 686,215 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,199,365 shares of the bank’s stock worth $238,250,000 after acquiring an additional 12,475 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 31.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,214 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $129,320,000 after acquiring an additional 414,920 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,256,000 after acquiring an additional 39,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,083,272 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,455,000 after purchasing an additional 14,735 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by 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.