Russell Investments Group Ltd. Buys 15,218 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 40.4% in the first quarter, owning 52,899 shares valued at approximately $3.05 million.
• Ameris Bancorp recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.1%.
• Brokerages have varying outlooks on Ameris Bancorp, with a target price range of $63.00 to $81.00, reflecting a generally positive sentiment from six analysts rating it as a Buy.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 40.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,899 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 15,218 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Ameris Bancorp worth $3,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 334 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth $128,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1,120.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the bank's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 8.8% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,251 shares of the bank's stock valued at $187,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.51. The company's stock had a trading volume of 69,737 shares, compared to its average volume of 424,942. 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 firm has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.11 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $67.68 and a 200-day moving average of $62.28. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $48.27 and a 12 month high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.08%.

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.