BUY HOLD SELL A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- E+ E E- F Annual Dividend Rate BUY BUY RATING SINCE 01/17/2013 TARGET PRICE $59.66 BUSINESS DESCRIPTION Ameris Bancorp operates as the holding company for Ameris Bank that provides banking services to retail and commercial customers primarily in Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and South Carolina. Sector: Financial Services Sub-Industry: Regional Banks Source: S&P Weekly Price: (US$) SMA (50) SMA (100) 1 Year 2 Years TARGET PRICE $59.66 60 55 50 STOCK PERFORMANCE (%) 3 Mo. 1 Yr. 3 Yr (Ann) Price Change 7.29 1.98 22.51 GROWTH (%) Last Qtr 12 Mo. 3 Yr CAGR Revenues 13.44 15.10 22.28 Net Income -6.49 21.30 40.90 EPS -11.48 14.64 26.93 RETURN ON EQUITY (%) Ind Avg S&P 500 Q3 2017 10.29 9.51 13.41 Q3 2016 10.59 8.91 11.79 Q3 2015 7.42 9.81 12.91 P/E COMPARISON Rating History BUY Volume in Millions 2016 2017 COMPUSTAT for Price and Volume, TheStreet Ratings, Inc. for Rating History 45 40 35 30 25 3 2 1 0 RECOMMENDATION We rate () a BUY. This is driven by a few notable strengths, which we believe should have a greater impact than any nesses, and should give investors a better performance opportunity than most stocks we cover. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its revenue growth, good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. We feel its strengths outweigh the fact that the company has had sub par growth in net income. 20.42 EPS ANALYSIS¹ ($) 17.20 Ind Avg 25.50 S&P 500 HIGHLIGHTS 's revenue growth has slightly outpaced the industry average of 10.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues rose by 13.4%. This growth in revenue does not appear to have trickled down to the company's bottom line, displayed by a decline in earnings per share. 's earnings per share declined by 11.5% in the most recent quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago. This company has reported somewhat volatile earnings recently. But, we feel it is poised for EPS growth in the coming year. During the past fiscal year, increased its bottom line by earning $2.07 versus $1.27 in the prior year. This year, the market expects an improvement in earnings ($2.48 versus $2.07). Q1 0.32 Q2 0.04 Q3 0.48 2015 Q4 0.43 Q1 0.37 Q2 0.57 Q3 0.61 2016 NA = not available NM = not meaningful Q4 0.52 Q1 0.59 Q2 0.62 Q3 0.54 2017 1 Compustat fiscal year convention is used for all fundamental data items. Net operating cash flow has increased to -$27.36 million or 40.80% when compared to the same quarter last year. Despite an increase in cash flow of 40.80%, is still growing at a significantly lower rate than the industry average of 335.15%. The gross profit margin for is currently very high, coming in at 89.11%. Regardless of 's high profit margin, it has managed to decrease from the same period last year. Despite the mixed results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 19.51% trails the industry average. In its most recent trading session, has closed at a price level that was not very different from its closing price of one year earlier. This is probably due to its earnings growth as well as other mixed factors. Looking ahead, the stock's rise over the last year has already helped drive it to a level which is relatively expensive compared to the rest of its industry. We feel, however, that the other strengths this company displays justify these higher price levels. PAGE 1
PEER GROUP ANALYSIS REVENUE GROWTH AND EBITDA MARGIN* Revenue Growth (TTM) 0% 50% BHLB UNFAVORABLE BANR 42% EBITDA Margin (TTM) WSBC FFBC BANF PRK NBTB FAVORABLE LTXB INDB PPBI 58% Companies with higher EBITDA margins and revenue growth rates are outperforming companies with lower EBITDA margins and revenue growth rates. Companies for this scatter plot have a market capitalization between $1.6 Billion and $1.9 Billion. Companies with NA or NM values do not appear. *EBITDA Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization. REVENUE GROWTH AND EARNINGS YIELD Revenue Growth (TTM) 0% 50% PPBI UNFAVORABLE INDB 4.25% Earnings Yield (TTM) BHLB BANF PRK NBTB FAVORABLE WSBC LTXB FFBC BANR Companies that exhibit both a high earnings yield and high revenue growth are generally more attractive than companies with low revenue growth and low earnings yield. Companies for this scatter plot have revenue growth rates between 4.3% and 48.7%. Companies with NA or NM values do not appear. 6% INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Commercial Banking is a highly fragmented industry. We rate more than 300 publicly traded institutions, ranging from huge Wells Fargo (WFC) to tiny companies such as United Bancshares (UBSI). They compete in a broad market of over 9,000 commercial banks and savings institutions, insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation institutions. Historically, commercial banks made most of their profits by capturing the margin between interest paid to depositors and higher rates charged to borrowers. They also raise money by selling bonds and bundles of loans called asset-backed securities. Additional income is earned from deposit and loan fees, as well as securities underwriting, stock trading, and asset management. The banking industry set record profits in previous years before collapsing as real estate prices imploded. This resulted in asset-backed securities being impossible to mark-to-market when the market dried up and diminishing the apparent equity capital position of the banks. The industry was rescued by the U.S. government through direct injections of capital to more than 700 financial institutions under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. In the financial crisis, 222 firms failed and were closed by the FDIC. In December 2009, 702 banks, accounting for $402.8 billion in total assets, were on the FDIC s problem bank list and risk being liquidated and sold to er banks. Legislation to strengthen financial industry regulation has been put in place to protect consumers from the worst practices of the credit card banks. Additional reforms designed to protect the industry from institutions from taking on excess leverage are being put in place to reduce systemic risk, regulate derivative financial products, and liquidate financial institutions formerly believed to be too-big-to-fail without a tax-payer bailout. The recovering economy and the new financial reforms serve to return confidence to the commercial banking group. PEER GROUP: Commercial Banks Recent Market Price/ Net Sales Net Income Ticker Company Name Price ($) Cap ($M) Earnings TTM ($M) TTM ($M) 46.35 1,726 20.42 382.91 82.58 LTXB LEGACY TEX FINANCIAL GRP INC 39.67 1,906 18.71 404.20 100.14 INDB INDEPENDENT BANK CORP/MA 68.80 1,888 22.78 350.58 82.32 BANR BANNER CORP 54.16 1,777 18.42 492.93 97.13 WSBC WESBANCO INC 40.02 1,762 17.10 415.72 102.80 PPBI PACIFIC PREMIER BANCORP INC 37.80 1,747 23.33 256.10 55.88 BANF BANCFIRST CORP/OK 53.15 1,694 20.13 351.38 85.56 FFBC FIRST FINL BANCORP INC/OH 27.15 1,685 17.63 397.89 95.27 BHLB BERKSHIRE HILLS BANCORP INC 37.20 1,684 20.00 439.17 68.39 NBTB N B T BANCORP INC 37.19 1,619 19.37 420.21 84.12 PRK PARK NATIONAL CORP 104.89 1,604 19.83 365.07 81.41 The peer group comparison is based on Major Regional Banks companies of comparable size. PAGE 2
Annual Dividend Rate COMPANY DESCRIPTION Ameris Bancorp operates as the 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 four segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, and SBA Division. It offers commercial and retail checking accounts, regular interest-bearing savings accounts, money market accounts, individual retirement accounts, and certificates of deposit. The company also provides commercial real estate, residential real estate mortgage, agricultural, and commercial and industrial loans; and consumer loans, including motor vehicle, home improvement, and home equity loans, as well as loans secured by savings accounts and small unsecured personal credit lines. It operates 97 domestic banking offices and 11 mortgage production offices. Ameris Bancorp was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Moultrie, Georgia. 310 First Street, SE Moultrie, GA 31768 USA Phone: 229-890-1111 http://www.amerisbank.com Employees: 1000 STOCK-AT-A-GLANCE Below is a summary of the major fundamental and technical factors we consider when determining our overall recommendation of shares. It is provided in order to give you a deeper understanding of our rating methodology as well as to paint a more complete picture of a stock's strengths and nesses. It is important to note, however, that these factors only tell part of the story. To gain an even more comprehensive understanding of our stance on the stock, these factors must be assessed in combination with the stock s valuation. Please refer to our Valuation section on page 5 for further information. FACTOR SCORE Growth 3.5 out of 5 stars Measures the growth of both the company's income statement and cash flow. On this factor, has a growth score better than 60% of the stocks we rate. Total Return 4.0 out of 5 stars Measures the historical price movement of the stock. The stock performance of this company has beaten 70% of the companies we cover. Efficiency 3.5 out of 5 stars Measures the strength and historic growth of a company's return on invested capital. The company has generated more income per dollar of capital than 60% of the companies we review. Price volatility 4.5 out of 5 stars Measures the volatility of the company's stock price historically. The stock is less volatile than 80% of the stocks we monitor. Solvency 3.5 out of 5 stars Measures the solvency of the company based on several ratios. The company is more solvent than 60% of the companies we analyze. Income 3.0 out of 5 stars Measures dividend yield and payouts to shareholders. The company's dividend is higher than 50% of the companies we track. THESTREET RATINGS RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TheStreet Ratings' stock model projects a stock's total return potential over a 12-month period including both price appreciation and dividends. Our Buy, Hold or Sell ratings designate how we expect these stocks to perform against a general benchmark of the equities market and interest rates. While our model is quantitative, it utilizes both subjective and objective elements. For instance, subjective elements include expected equities market returns, future interest rates, implied industry outlook and forecasted company earnings. Objective elements include volatility of past operating revenues, financial strength, and company cash flows. Our model gauges the relationship between risk and reward in several ways, including: the pricing drawdown as compared to potential profit volatility, i.e.how much one is willing to risk in order to earn profits; the level of acceptable volatility for highly performing stocks; the current valuation as compared to projected earnings growth; and the financial strength of the underlying company as compared to its stock's valuation as compared to projected earnings growth; and the financial strength of the underlying company as compared to its stock's performance. These and many more derived observations are then combined, ranked, weighted, and scenario-tested to create a more complete analysis. The result is a systematic and disciplined method of selecting stocks. PAGE 3
Consensus EPS Estimates² ($) IBES consensus estimates are provided by Thomson Financial FINANCIAL ANALYSIS 's gross profit margin for the third quarter of its fiscal year 2017 is essentially unchanged when compared to the same period a year ago. Even though sales increased, the net income has decreased. During the same period, stockholders' equity ("net worth") has increased by 24.79% from the same quarter last year. 0.63 Q4 FY17 2.48 E 2017(E) 3.15 E 2018(E) STOCKS TO BUY: TheStreet Quant Ratings has identified a handful of stocks that can potentially TRIPLE in the next 12-months. To learn more visit www.thestreetratings.com. INCOME STATEMENT Net Sales ($mil) 103.32 91.07 EBITDA ($mil) 53.45 51.15 EBIT ($mil) 50.24 47.75 Net Income ($mil) 20.16 21.56 BALANCE SHEET Cash & Equiv. ($mil) 243.92 214.07 Total Assets ($mil) 7,649.82 6,493.50 Total Debt ($mil) 907.95 500.01 Equity ($mil) 801.92 642.58 PROFITABILITY Gross Profit Margin 89.11% 93.46% EBITDA Margin 51.73% 56.16% Operating Margin 48.62% 52.43% Sales Turnover 0.05 0.05 Return on Assets 1.07% 1.04% Return on Equity 10.29% 10.59% DEBT Current Ratio NA NA Debt/Capital 0.53 0.44 Interest Expense NA NA Interest Coverage NA NA SHARE DATA Shares outstanding (mil) 37 35 Div / share 0.10 0.10 EPS 0.54 0.61 Book value / share 21.54 18.42 Institutional Own % NA NA Avg Daily Volume 200,243 160,013 2 Sum of quarterly figures may not match annual estimates due to use of median consensus estimates. PAGE 4
RATINGS HISTORY Our rating for has not changed since 1/17/2013. As of 12/14/2017, the stock was trading at a price of which is 9.7% below its 52-week high of $51.30 and 12.9% above its 52-week low of $41.05. 2 Year Chart BUY: $33.56 2016 $50 $40 $30 MOST RECENT RATINGS CHANGES Date Price Action From To 12/14/15 $33.56 No Change Buy Buy Price reflects the closing price as of the date listed, if available RATINGS DEFINITIONS & DISTRIBUTION OF THESTREET RATINGS (as of 12/14/2017) 44.62% Buy - We believe that this stock has the opportunity to appreciate and produce a total return of more than 10% over the next 12 months. 30.32% Hold - We do not believe this stock offers conclusive evidence to warrant the purchase or sale of shares at this time and that its likelihood of positive total return is roughly in balance with the risk of loss. 25.06% Sell - We believe that this stock is likely to decline by more than 10% over the next 12 months, with the risk involved too great to compensate for any possible returns. TheStreet Ratings 14 Wall Street, 15th Floor New York, NY 10005 www.thestreet.com Research Contact: 212-321-5381 Sales Contact: 866-321-8726 VALUATION BUY. This stock's P/E ratio indicates a premium compared to an average of 17.20 for the Commercial Banks industry and a discount compared to the S&P 500 average of 25.50. Conducting a second comparison, its price-to-book ratio of 2.15 indicates a discount versus the S&P 500 average of 3.24 and a premium versus the industry average of 1.34. The price-to-sales ratio is well above both the S&P 500 average and the industry average, indicating a premium. Upon assessment of these and other key valuation criteria, AMERIS BANCORP proves to trade at a premium to investment alternatives within the industry. Price/Earnings 20.42 Peers 17.20 Premium. A higher P/E ratio than its peers can signify a more expensive stock or higher growth expectations. is trading at a premium to its peers. Price/Projected Earnings 14.74 Peers 14.87 Premium. A higher price-to-projected earnings ratio than its peers can signify a more expensive stock or higher future growth expectations. is trading at a significant premium to its peers. Price/Book 2.15 Peers 1.34 Premium. A higher price-to-book ratio makes a stock less attractive to investors seeking stocks with lower market values per dollar of equity on the balance sheet. is trading at a significant premium to its peers. Price/Sales 4.51 Peers 3.08 Premium. In the absence of P/E and P/B multiples, the price-to-sales ratio can display the value investors are placing on each dollar of sales. is trading at a significant premium to its industry. DISCLAIMER: Price/CashFlow NM Peers 16.16 Neutral. The P/CF ratio, a stock s price divided by the company's cash flow from operations, is useful for comparing companies with different capital requirements or financing structures. 's P/CF is negative making the measure meaningless. Price to Earnings/Growth 1.08 Peers 1.00 Average. The PEG ratio is the stock s P/E divided by the consensus estimate of long-term earnings growth. Faster growth can justify higher price multiples. trades at a valuation on par to its peers. Earnings Growth lower higher 14.64 Peers 27.59 Lower. Elevated earnings growth rates can lead to capital appreciation and justify higher price-to-earnings ratios. However, is expected to significantly trail its peers on the basis of its earnings growth rate. Sales Growth lower higher 15.10 Peers 4.09 Higher. A sales growth rate that exceeds the industry implies that a company is gaining market share. has a sales growth rate that significantly exceeds its peers. The opinions and information contained herein have been obtained or derived from sources believed to be reliable, but TheStreet Ratings cannot guarantee its accuracy and completeness, and that of the opinions based thereon. Data is provided via the COMPUSTAT Xpressfeed product from Standard &Poor's, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., as well as other third-party data providers. TheStreet Ratings is a division of TheStreet, Inc., which is a publisher. This research report contains opinions and is provided for informational purposes only. You should not rely solely upon the research herein for purposes of transacting securities or other investments, and you are encouraged to conduct your own research and due diligence, and to seek the advice of a qualified securities professional, before you make any investment. None of the information contained in this report constitutes, or is intended to constitute a recommendation by TheStreet Ratings of any particular security or trading strategy or a determination by TheStreet Ratings that any security or trading strategy is suitable for any specific person. To the extent any of the information contained herein may be deemed to be investment advice, such information is impersonal and not tailored to the investment needs of any specific person. Your use of this report is governed by TheStreet, Inc.'s Terms of Use found at http://www.thestreet.com/static/about/terms-of-use.html. PAGE 5