Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Holdings Lifted by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 62,566 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,005 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $3,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,560,371 shares of the bank’s stock worth $365,771,000 after purchasing an additional 92,491 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 54,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,616,000 after buying an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 2,443 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth $466,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.8% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,324 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $71.79 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.96 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.38 and its 200-day moving average is $57.62. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $41.00 and a 1-year high of $72.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.