Natixis Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,599 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 92,491 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 54,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,616,000 after purchasing an additional 2,366 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 5.7% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,663 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $466,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.8% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,324 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,322,000 after purchasing an additional 1,982 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $72.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.08 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $64.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.77. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $41.00 and a 52-week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors 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 0.83%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. DA Davidson boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens raised their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp 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.