Raymond James & Associates Boosts Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,791 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $209,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $223,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $241,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $46.77 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $46.52 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The company has a market capitalization of $3.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.05.

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). The firm had revenue of $262.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.23 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.30% and a net margin of 17.67%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ABCB shares. 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. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.25.

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.