Raymond James Upgrades Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) to Outperform

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) was upgraded by investment analysts at Raymond James from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a $67.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Raymond James’ target price suggests a potential upside of 7.56% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on ABCB. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $69.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $62.29 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $34.76 and a 1-year high of $66.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $61.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.05.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.97% and a net margin of 19.28%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.