Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Stock Price & How to Invest

Ameris Bancorp is the holding company for Ameris Bank, a relationship-focused Southeastern regional bank headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia with roots going back to 1971 in Moultrie, Georgia. It operates banking centers across about eight Southeastern states (Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland), and makes money from commercial and consumer deposits, commercial real estate and residential lending, treasury management, mortgage banking, and other fee-based services. As of late 2025 it managed roughly $27 billion in total assets, with more than $22 billion in deposits and over $21 billion in loans. In 2026 it added a Nashville team and new South Carolina market presidents.

The investment picture is that of a well-run mid-cap bank leveraged to Southeastern population and business growth. Core results stay strong (a net interest margin near 3.88% in Q2 2026, adjusted EPS of $1.60, and loan production up 24% year over year), but second-quarter GAAP earnings fell to about $51 million after an $82.5 million litigation accrual tied to a California employment case, which management plans to appeal. Adjusted EPS also came in a little below the $1.66 consensus. The stock trades around 14.5x trailing and 11.4x forward earnings with a dividend yield near 1.0%, so returns depend on management sustaining margin, funding costs, and asset quality through the rate and credit cycle rather than on a rich valuation re-rating. As of October 16, 2026 the shares were up about 8% year to date and 15% over one year, but down about 12% over three months.

As a regional bank, Ameris is sensitive to interest rate swings, which affect both its net interest margin and the value of its securities and deposit franchise, and management has already flagged slight margin compression ahead. A weaker economy or a downturn in Southeastern commercial real estate could raise credit losses well above the current low charge-off levels. Deposit competition from higher-yielding alternatives and fintechs can pressure funding costs and margins; ending deposits dipped in Q2 2026 on quarter-end customer movement. The $82.5 million litigation accrual shows that legal outcomes can swing reported earnings. The bank also faces ongoing regulatory and compliance costs, and its geographic concentration in the Southeast means a regional shock (such as severe hurricanes or a local economic slump) could hit disproportionately. Any acquisition-driven growth carries integration and credit-mark risk.

6 analysts publish price targets on ABCB, averaging $93.17 against a $79.72 price as of October 2026, or +16.9%. The published targets run from $84.00 to $100.00, a narrow spread, and the ratings split 3 buy, 4 hold, 0 sell. Over the last six months there have been 5 raises and 4 cuts among the published actions. A price target is what an analyst published on a date, not a prediction, and sell-side ratings skew positive across the whole market.

Read the full ABCB forecast and price target for the target table, the recent rating actions by firm, and how the consensus has shifted.

We give no verdict on Ameris Bancorp. Both cases are real, which is why the question is contested at all, so here is the strongest version of each.

The case for buying. Southeast growth footprint. Ameris is concentrated in fast-growing Sun Belt markets like Georgia and Florida, where in-migration and business formation support loan and deposit demand. The most optimistic published target, $100.00, assumes this works close to its best case.

The case against. As a regional bank, Ameris is sensitive to interest rate swings, which affect both its net interest margin and the value of its securities and deposit franchise, and management has already flagged slight margin compression ahead. The most pessimistic target, $84.00, is roughly what ABCB is worth if this bites instead.

Read the full bull and bear case on ABCB, including what would have to change to break either one. Walnut is not an investment adviser.

No. Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) has not split its stock in the last 10 years. That is a statement about the window we check rather than about the company’s entire history, so an older split is possible. It also matters less than it once did: fractional shares mean a high price per share no longer keeps smaller investors out, which removed most of the practical reason to split.

A simple financial snapshot. These are approximations and refresh quarterly; for current figures see Ameris Bancorp's investor relations page or your broker.

• Revenue (TTM): ~$1.18B
• Revenue growth (latest quarter, YoY): ~3.6%
• Net income (TTM): ~$376M
• Diluted EPS (TTM / forward): ~$5.53 / ~$7.03
• P/E (trailing / forward): ~14.5x / ~11.4x
• Dividend yield: ~1.0%
• Market cap: ~$5.4B

Trailing GAAP earnings are depressed by the Q2 2026 litigation accrual, which is why the trailing P/E (~14.5x) sits well above the forward multiple (~11.4x) built on analysts' ~$7.03 2027 EPS estimate. Consensus for Q3 2026, reported October 22, is about $1.68 per share on roughly $328 million of revenue. At ~1.3x book value and a ~1.0% yield, the shares price in a profitable mid-cap regional bank rather than rapid growth; the average analyst target is about $93.

Other names that sit close to ABCB: same theme, named as a direct competitor, or held beside it in the same funds. Each entry says which. Worth a look if you are thinking about diversification within a thesis rather than concentration on one ticker.

There are three common ways to get ABCB exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) directly at any major broker. Hold an ETF that includes it, which spreads the position across many companies. Or build it into a focused thematic portfolio, so ABCB sits alongside other stocks that express the same thesis.

Walnut takes the portfolio route. Describe a thesis where ABCB fits (for example “AI infrastructure” or “dividend-growth large-caps”) and the AI proposes 5 to 6 constituents with target weights. You review the plan and fund it through your own broker when you're ready.

New to this? Start with how to invest in stocks, see how to analyze a stock with AI, or compare the best AI stock analyzers.

ABCB is a mid-cap Southeastern regional bank with strong core profitability and a forward P/E near 11x, so the story hinges on Southeast growth, margin durability, credit staying clean, and how the $82.5 million litigation accrual from Q2 plays out on appeal.

Whether ABCB is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, what would have to go right, and the risks in is ABCB a buy or a sell?, and where the stock could go from here in the ABCB stock forecast.

For income investors, whether ABCB pays a dividend and how the payout looks is covered in does ABCB pay a dividend? And to weigh ABCB against a peer, read the full side-by-side comparisons: ABCB vs SSB and ABCB vs FBK.