New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Boosts Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Key Points

• New Age Alpha Advisors LLC significantly increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp, owning 77,922 shares after a purchase of 68,432 shares, marking a growth of 721.1% in the first quarter.
• The stock of Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $72.14, reflecting favorable analyst sentiments despite varying price objectives from different firms.
• Ameris Bancorp recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, indicating a 1.2% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 14.08% based on its annualized dividend.

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 721.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 77,922 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 68,432 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC owned 0.11% of Ameris Bancorp worth $4,486,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Park Square Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $128,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 836.7% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the bank's stock worth $132,000 after buying an additional 1,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1,120.2% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the bank's stock worth $167,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $67.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 453,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 429,390. The stock has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.88 and a beta of 0.96. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $48.27 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The company's 50-day moving average is $64.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $61.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on ABCB. Raymond James Financial cut 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. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $81.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.