BIP Wealth LLC Buys Shares of 14,936 Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

BIP Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,936 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $935,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,735,000 after buying an additional 72,599 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 728,253 shares of the bank's stock worth $45,436,000 after purchasing an additional 60,448 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.3% in the fourth quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 14,611 shares of the bank's stock valued at $914,000 after purchasing an additional 1,248 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded down $0.20 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $59.45. 296,727 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 397,347. The stock has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.41 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $45.89 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $56.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. The business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABCB shares. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.43.

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.