Diversified Trust Co. Purchases New Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Diversified Trust Co. acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,734 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $723,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $45,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $75.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $79.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.63. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $48.27 and a 52 week high of $87.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.97.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.48 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Ameris Bancorp

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.