Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 152.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 15,599 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,417 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 54,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at $466,000. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,324 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $70.89 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.78 and a 200 day moving average of $57.92. The firm has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $41.86 and a 1 year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

Ameris Bancorp operates as the bank holding company for Ameris Bank that provides range of banking services to retail and commercial customers. It operates through five segments: Banking Division, Retail Mortgage Division, Warehouse Lending Division, SBA Division, and Premium Finance Division. The company offers commercial and retail checking, regular interest-bearing savings, money market, individual retirement, and certificates of deposit accounts.