Ameris Bancorp $ABCB is FJ Capital Management LLC's 4th Largest Position

Key Points

• FJ Capital Management LLC significantly increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 311.3% in Q1, becoming its 4th largest position.
• Ameris Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.1%.
• Analysts have given Ameris Bancorp an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $72.14.

FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 311.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 785,288 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 594,340 shares during the period. Ameris Bancorp comprises approximately 4.7% of FJ Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. FJ Capital Management LLC owned approximately 1.14% of Ameris Bancorp worth $45,209,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% during the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $128,000. State of Wyoming lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 8.3% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,346 shares of the bank's stock valued at $135,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1,120.2% during the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the bank's stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded down $0.52 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.95. The stock had a trading volume of 368,287 shares, compared to its average volume of 423,637. The stock's 50 day moving average is $68.90 and its 200 day moving average is $62.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a PE ratio of 14.19 and a beta of 0.97. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $48.27 and a twelve month high of $75.46. 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 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.