Raymond James & Associates Acquires 235 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 16,791 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 235 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the bank’s stock worth $175,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. KLR Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $209,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $223,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth $241,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $255,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.1 %

ABCB opened at $46.77 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $28.33 and a 52 week high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.05.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $262.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $267.23 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 17.67% and a return on equity of 8.30%. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.38%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $355,125.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.25.

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.