Emerald Advisers LLC Makes New $7.83 Million Investment in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 136,058 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $7,833,000. Emerald Advisers LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Ameris Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,975 shares of the bank's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank's stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,020 shares of the bank's stock worth $877,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $324,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.8% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,251 shares of the bank's stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $0.68 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.45. The company had a trading volume of 265,419 shares, compared to its average volume of 401,154. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 0.93. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $63.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $61.25.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $276.06 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. 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 1.20%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler Companies raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.43.

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.