Graham Capital Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 7,741 Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,741 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $484,000.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This trade represents a 5.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

NASDAQ ABCB traded down $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $62.36. The company's stock had a trading volume of 64,435 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,121. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $45.89 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $57.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.98 and a beta of 0.91.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

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.