Prospector Partners LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Key Points

• Prospector Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 15.0% in the 1st quarter, now owning 253,585 shares valued at approximately $14.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wells Fargo and LPL Financial, have also significantly increased their stakes in Ameris Bancorp, with 91.64% of the stock currently held by such entities.
• Ameris Bancorp announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.

Prospector Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 15.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 253,585 shares of the bank's stock after buying an additional 33,103 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp makes up about 1.6% of Prospector Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Prospector Partners LLC owned 0.37% of Ameris Bancorp worth $14,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 7,215 shares of the bank's stock worth $451,000 after purchasing an additional 721 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 41.6% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 44,237 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,768,000 after purchasing an additional 12,989 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 429,895 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,899,000 after purchasing an additional 29,281 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $2,016,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 1,891 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective 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. Finally, DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $70.02 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.44 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $65.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $61.95. 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 has a one year low of $48.27 and a one year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.