ProShare Advisors LLC Purchases 6,106 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,817 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 6,106 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 107.7% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 140,001 shares of the bank's stock valued at $8,735,000 after purchasing an additional 72,599 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2,768.5% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 68,384 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,292,000 after acquiring an additional 66,000 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Oklahoma bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $600,000. Finally, Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $200,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies boosted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $1.53 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $62.75. 92,319 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 403,532. 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 1-year low of $45.89 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $57.36 and a 200-day moving average price of $62.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.32 billion, a PE ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Ameris Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.