Stifel Financial Corp Has $1.32 Million Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 13.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,107 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth approximately $491,000. SageView Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 57.4% during the 3rd quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 6,916 shares of the bank’s stock worth $432,000 after buying an additional 2,521 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 135.5% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 115,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,187,000 after purchasing an additional 66,287 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $298,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ABCB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.4 %

ABCB opened at $62.81 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.12. 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 $44.00 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

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.