Ameris Bancorp price target raised to $71 from $67 at Raymond James

Raymond James analyst David Feaster raised the firm’s price target on Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) to $71 from $67 and keeps an Outperform rating on the shares following the Q4 beat. Ameris Bancorp’s core trends remain solid, and the firm expects loan growth to accelerate in light of recent hires and accelerating production, the analyst tells investors in a research note. Raymond James also sees further net interest margin expansion as spreads on new production are accretive to current NIM and it has significant embedded repricing potential.