Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $91.52 and last traded at $91.7090, with a volume of 92013 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $90.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABCB has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stephens boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson upped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.17.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.9%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $85.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64 and a beta of 0.91.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.58%.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.