New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Has $4.49 Million Stock 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 raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 721.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 218 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.8% during the first quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,001 shares of the bank's stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ABCB shares. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, DA Davidson set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $1.08 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $67.10. 453,764 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 429,390. The firm has a market cap of $4.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.88 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 firm's 50-day simple moving average is $64.97 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.79. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $48.27 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

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 $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 14.08%.

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.