Alps Advisors Inc. Acquires New Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Alps Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,130 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $449,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2,311.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the period. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% in the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $68,000. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $83.99 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $87.98. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $75.05. The company has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The company had revenue of $309.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.48 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ABCB. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed 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, DA Davidson set a $94.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.