Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Stake Boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 3.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,258,436 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,478 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 1.83% of Ameris Bancorp worth $92,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $33,000. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 48.8% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,076 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $80,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson set a $94.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 4.8%

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $79.68 on Tuesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $87.98. The stock has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a fifty day moving average of $79.91 and a 200-day moving average of $75.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $310.48 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Ameris Bancorp 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.