FY2024 EPS Estimates for Ameris Bancorp Increased by Analyst

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) – Stock analysts at DA Davidson increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report released on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the bank will earn $4.82 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $4.75. The consensus estimate for Ameris Bancorp’s current full-year earnings is $4.83 per share. DA Davidson also issued estimates for Ameris Bancorp’s Q4 2024 earnings at $1.17 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $5.15 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial lowered their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $62.81 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $66.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.00 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The firm had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $210,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 77,277 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,821,000 after buying an additional 4,875 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,735,000 after acquiring an additional 72,599 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 12.50%.

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.