EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 351 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,028 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 351 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% in the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $60.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.37. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $45.89 and a 12 month high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. Ameris Bancorp’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.43.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.