FY2024 EPS Estimate for Ameris Bancorp Lifted by Analyst

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) – DA Davidson lifted their FY2024 earnings estimates for Ameris Bancorp in a research report issued on Thursday, December 19th. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now anticipates that the bank will post earnings of $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.

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

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Truist Financial cut 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 increased 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 lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $62.81 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.03. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $44.00 and a twelve month high of $74.56.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.27%. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.