Advisor Resource Council Acquires Shares of 10,736 Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Advisor Resource Council acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 10,736 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $590,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Vicus Capital raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 16.9% during the first quarter. Vicus Capital now owns 3,780 shares of the bank's stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 5,206 shares of the bank's stock valued at $300,000 after buying an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,479 shares of the bank's stock valued at $776,000 after buying an additional 922 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 408.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the bank's stock valued at $910,000 after buying an additional 12,690 shares during the period. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 4,870 shares of the bank's stock worth $280,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded up $1.61 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.76. The stock had a trading volume of 290,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,634. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.93. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $48.21 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $60.63 and a 200-day moving average of $61.05. 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 (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. Ameris Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.24%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ABCB. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.43.

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.