Russell Investments Group Ltd. Grows Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 40.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,899 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 15,218 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.08% of Ameris Bancorp worth $3,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 334 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1,120.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,251 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $72.0760 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $48.27 and a 52-week high of $74.56. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $66.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $62.05.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABCB. DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp 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.