Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Sells 5,888 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Key Points

• Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP has significantly reduced its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 60.8% during Q1, now owning 3,792 shares valued at $218,000.
• Various institutional investors have increased their positions in Ameris Bancorp, with Versant Capital Management Inc. boosting its stake by 84.1% during the same quarter.
• Ameris Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20, yielding 1.1% annually, with a low payout ratio of 14.08% as of its last filing.

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP cut its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 60.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,792 shares of the bank's stock after selling 5,888 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP's holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $56,202,000. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 36.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,875,194 shares of the bank's stock valued at $107,955,000 after acquiring an additional 498,604 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 189.7% in the first quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 502,690 shares of the bank's stock valued at $28,940,000 after acquiring an additional 329,196 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank's stock valued at $158,490,000 after acquiring an additional 208,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 150.3% in the fourth quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 288,300 shares of the bank's stock valued at $18,039,000 after acquiring an additional 173,106 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced their target price 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. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $0.1650 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.8750. The stock had a trading volume of 316,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 427,897. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $48.27 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.08.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.08%.

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.