Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Purchases New Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 4,130 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $41,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 41.9% in the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,269 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 269 shares during the period. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 202.5% during the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 43.9% during the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,821 shares of the bank’s stock worth $132,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $46.28 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company has a market cap of $3.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $45.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.05). Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 8.30%. The business had revenue of $262.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.23 million. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ABCB. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $50.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.