Cetera Investment Advisers Grows Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 17.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,018 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $231,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $128,000. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,251 shares of the bank’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Fiduciary Trust Co acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $210,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $69.1010 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.10. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $48.27 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABCB. DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial dropped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.14.

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.