Ethic Inc. Invests $215,000 in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Ethic Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,438 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% during the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $105,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of ABCB opened at $63.44 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $56.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.37 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $45.89 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABCB has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens restated 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 lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler initiated 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. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

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.