Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Stock Holdings Trimmed by AlphaQuest LLC

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC has significantly reduced its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 60.4%, selling 22,467 shares, leaving them with 14,719 shares valued at about $952,000.
• Ameris Bancorp is initiating a $200 million stock repurchase plan, indicating that its leadership believes the shares are undervalued.
• The stock received a strong-buy rating from DA Davidson, with an average consensus target price of $72.14, reflecting overall positive sentiment among analysts.

AlphaQuest LLC reduced its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,719 shares of the bank's stock after selling 22,467 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Palmer Knight Co bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $201,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $1,509,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $68,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.9% in the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the bank's stock valued at $617,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 6.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,078 shares of the bank's stock valued at $329,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB opened at $73.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.20 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $48.27 and a 1-year high of $76.58. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $73.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.29.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, DA Davidson raised Ameris Bancorp to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $72.14.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.

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