Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have earned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $91.6667.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ABCB shares. Stephens set a $88.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial cut Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $89.05 on Tuesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $68.80 and a 52 week high of $93.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.92. 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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $88.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.30.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.06). Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The company had revenue of $317.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.47%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $881,798,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $62,673,000. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 38.2% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,737,028 shares of the bank’s stock worth $203,279,000 after buying an additional 755,967 shares in the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $56,124,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $42,270,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

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.