Congress Asset Management Co. Increases Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 996,786 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,106 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 1.46% of Ameris Bancorp worth $74,031,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 171.8% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 84,129 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,248,000 after buying an additional 53,172 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $723,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 23,108 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 3,110 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,349 shares of the bank’s stock worth $174,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of ABCB opened at $75.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $80.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 0.97. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $48.27 and a 12-month high of $87.98.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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