Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC Has $793,000 Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 267.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,783 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 10,027 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC's holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% in the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 836.7% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the bank's stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 1,891 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ABCB shares. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ABCB stock traded up $0.61 on Friday, hitting $66.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 614,394 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,071. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.93. 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 fifty-two week low of $48.27 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $63.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.48.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.81%.

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.