KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Raises Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,720 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $890,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 36.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,875,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,955,000 after purchasing an additional 498,604 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth $56,202,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 943,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,015,000 after acquiring an additional 9,548 shares in the last quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 311.3% during the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 785,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,209,000 after acquiring an additional 594,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 731,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,132,000 after acquiring an additional 20,355 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson set a $81.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.7%

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $73.59 on Thursday. 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 has a one year low of $48.27 and a one year high of $76.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $72.87 and its 200 day moving average is $65.29.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.08%.

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.