Aberdeen Group plc Purchases 148,975 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 86.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 320,865 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 148,975 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $23,853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,311.8% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter worth approximately $33,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% during the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 48.8% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson set a $94.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $84.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $83.91 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $48.27 and a 52-week high of $87.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.33.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.48 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.33%.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.