American Century Companies Inc. Buys 202,165 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 10.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,077,359 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 202,165 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 3.01% of Ameris Bancorp worth $134,405,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $409,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 8.3% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,346 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $617,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% in the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,303 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 5.0% in the second quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 4,095 shares of the bank’s stock worth $265,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $74.15 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $73.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.95. The stock has a market cap of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $48.27 and a 12 month high of $76.58.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 currently 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, October 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to purchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson upgraded Ameris Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.33.

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.