Intech Investment Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 152.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,599 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 9,417 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,374,719 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $220,263,000 after buying an additional 45,240 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,533,580 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $127,566,000 after buying an additional 19,287 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,829,000 after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,861,000 after acquiring an additional 12,054 shares during the period. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 809,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,495,000 after acquiring an additional 19,506 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $70.89 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $64.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $41.86 and a one year high of $74.56. 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 (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. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABCB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

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.