Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on ABCB. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 15th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $47.48 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $28.33 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.34.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.05 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.86 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $355,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,467,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,171,000 after buying an additional 33,386 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,193,610 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,473,000 after acquiring an additional 205,750 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,547,134 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $97,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90,694 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,514,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,383,000 after purchasing an additional 201,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,254,903 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $60,712,000 after purchasing an additional 36,873 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.