Citigroup Inc. Acquires 34,881 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 32.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,122 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 34,881 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Ameris Bancorp worth $8,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,596,000 after acquiring an additional 79,060 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 152.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 15,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $973,000 after purchasing an additional 9,417 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 5.8% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 25,065 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $311,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 5.0% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 62,566 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,903,000 after buying an additional 3,005 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $70.28 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $42.25 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial cut their target price 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. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.