Dark Forest Capital Management LP Invests $1.11 Million in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 17,687 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,107,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the bank's stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,020 shares of the bank's stock valued at $877,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 2.2 %

Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $58.20. The stock had a trading volume of 350,486 shares, compared to its average volume of 390,030. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $45.89 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $56.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.17 and a beta of 0.87.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler Companies upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler began coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.29.

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.