Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Price Target to $88.00

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) had its price target hoisted by stock analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $82.00 to $88.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson set a $94.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.2%

NASDAQ ABCB traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $80.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 175,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 489,631. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 0.99. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $48.27 and a twelve month high of $83.64.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $310.48 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same period last year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, October 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% in the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 13,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $890,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 16.8% in the 3rd quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 394,563 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,925,000 after buying an additional 56,852 shares in the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $1,663,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 86,422 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,336,000 after acquiring an additional 13,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 969,680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,087,000 after purchasing an additional 26,639 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.