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

Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $70.50.

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

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 3.5 %

ABCB stock opened at $57.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $44.22 and a 52 week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank’s stock worth $158,490,000 after acquiring an additional 208,000 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,829,000 after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,401,000 after acquiring an additional 10,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,861,000 after buying an additional 12,054 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.