Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Sets New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $85.40 and last traded at $84.4020, with a volume of 23815 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.96.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson set a $94.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

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 moving average price of $77.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $74.12. The stock has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19 and a beta of 0.99.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $309.92 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 13.33%.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $671,000 after acquiring an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,767,000 after acquiring an additional 13,633 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.