Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $158,490,000 after purchasing an additional 208,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,570,000 after purchasing an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,401,000 after buying an additional 10,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,861,000 after buying an additional 12,054 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock opened at $57.01 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $63.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $64.24. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.22 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a PE ratio of 10.94 and a beta of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.40%. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.