Point72 Asset Management L.P. Raises Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 150.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 288,300 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 173,106 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned 0.42% of Ameris Bancorp worth $18,039,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABCB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,570,000 after buying an additional 223,805 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,385,000 after acquiring an additional 19,150 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 158.2% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 40,279 shares of the bank's stock valued at $2,520,000 after acquiring an additional 24,680 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $385,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $1,195,000. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stephens restated 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 initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler Companies upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.5%

NASDAQ ABCB traded down $0.30 on Friday, reaching $61.01. 69,106 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 401,880. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.41. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $45.89 and a 12 month high of $74.56.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Ameris Bancorp 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.