Analysts Set Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Price Target at $78.57

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $78.5714.

ABCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Finally, Truist Financial began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $80.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% in the 2nd quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 13,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $890,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $1,663,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 16,516.1% during the second quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 43,368 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 43,107 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $10,528,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $609,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $77.97 on Thursday. 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 has a 1-year low of $48.27 and a 1-year high of $78.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.