Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) Shares Cross Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB)’s stock price crossed above its 50 day moving average during trading on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $82.56 and traded as high as $83.63. Ameris Bancorp shares last traded at $82.7810, with a volume of 390,548 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $100.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $90.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.1%

The stock has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.47 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $82.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.66.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $320.94 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.72 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 22.47% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Root Financial Partners LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Allworth Financial LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at approximately $67,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $91,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) is a bank holding company and the parent company of Ameris Bank, a full-service financial institution serving individuals, businesses and communities primarily across the southeastern United States.

Ameris Bank offers a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management and wealth management services.