Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New $964,000 Investment in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Key Points

• Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd has made a significant investment in Ameris Bancorp by purchasing 16,752 shares valued at approximately $964,000.
• Ameris Bancorp reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.28, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.16, with revenue increasing 7.0% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.21%.

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,752 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $964,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,570,000 after purchasing an additional 223,805 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.3% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,479 shares of the bank's stock valued at $776,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. Foundry Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 53.5% in the first quarter. Foundry Partners LLC now owns 110,911 shares of the bank's stock valued at $6,385,000 after purchasing an additional 38,650 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 264 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $1,195,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler Companies upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial cut their price target 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 3.0%

ABCB traded up $1.99 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.39. The company had a trading volume of 312,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 414,575. The company has a market cap of $4.71 billion, a PE ratio of 13.12 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day moving average of $63.96 and a 200-day moving average of $61.53. 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 $48.27 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (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 analysts' expectations of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.