Natixis Advisors LLC Has $1.47 Million Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 2.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 23,599 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,560,371 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $365,771,000 after purchasing an additional 92,491 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,829,000 after buying an additional 55,473 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $2,462,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 18.6% in the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 290,033 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,603,000 after purchasing an additional 45,450 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,374,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $220,263,000 after purchasing an additional 45,240 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $72.37 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a PE ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on ABCB shares. DA Davidson lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.