22,441 Shares in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Purchased by Artemis Investment Management LLP

Key Points

• Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake of 22,441 shares of Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) in Q4, valued at about $1.667 million, and institutional investors now own roughly 91.60% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment is a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $90.17, and several firms recently raised targets (e.g., DA Davidson to $98, Raymond James $92).
• Ameris beat Q1 estimates with $1.63 EPS vs. $1.54 expected and $314.36M revenue; the stock trades near $85.61, has a $5.84B market cap, and an annual dividend yield of 0.9%.

Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 22,441 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,667,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,256,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank's stock worth $671,000 after buying an additional 3,129 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,767,000 after acquiring an additional 13,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $90.17.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.4%

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $85.61 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.80 and its 200-day moving average is $78.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $58.91 and a 1 year high of $87.98. The company has a market cap of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.43 and a beta of 0.93.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

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