Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 53.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,880 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $554,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,359 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $924,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens increased their price objective 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 shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.2 %

ABCB opened at $67.68 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $4.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10 and a beta of 1.03. 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 12 month low of $44.00 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.38.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.