Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) – Analysts at SunTrust Banks cut their FY2019 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note issued on Monday, August 26th, according to Zacks Investment Research. SunTrust Banks analyst J. Demba now expects that the bank will post earnings of $3.80 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $3.82. SunTrust Banks has a “Buy” rating and a $45.00 price objective on the stock. SunTrust Banks also issued estimates for Ameris Bancorp’s Q4 2019 earnings at $0.99 EPS, Q1 2020 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q2 2020 earnings at $1.15 EPS, Q3 2020 earnings at $1.17 EPS and FY2020 earnings at $4.46 EPS.
Several other research firms have also weighed in on ABCB. BidaskClub lowered shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $52.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, July 1st. Zacks Investment Research raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Raymond James initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Thursday, July 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.00.
NASDAQ ABCB opened at $35.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.91 and a 200-day moving average of $37.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $29.97 and a 1-year high of $50.00.
Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The bank reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.96. The company had revenue of $136.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $139.72 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 27.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.74 earnings per share.
In related news, Director Elizabeth A. Mccague purchased 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $37.50 per share, with a total value of $30,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 7,692 shares in the company, valued at approximately $288,450. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.00% of the company’s stock.
A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Atria Investments LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $454,000. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 23.9% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,510,872 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $294,351,000 after acquiring an additional 1,450,551 shares in the last quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Maltese Capital Management LLC now owns 625,091 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $24,497,000 after acquiring an additional 19,284 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 8.4% in the 2nd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 54,943 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,153,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2,786.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 264,225 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,355,000 after acquiring an additional 255,071 shares in the last quarter. 90.68% 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 banking services to retail and commercial customers primarily in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. The company operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division.