Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Acquired by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 713 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 509 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $44,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after buying an additional 1,386 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 26.0% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 15,530 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $969,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,462,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $207,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $62.10 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.27. The firm has a market cap of $4.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $38.71 and a 12 month high of $66.51.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company 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 was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial cut their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.67.

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.