Graham Capital Management L.P. Invests $484,000 in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABCB. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $158,490,000 after acquiring an additional 208,000 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank's stock valued at $57,401,000 after acquiring an additional 10,256 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank's stock worth $51,405,000 after acquiring an additional 12,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank's stock worth $49,385,000 after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was 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 the SEC website. Company insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

ABCB traded down $0.22 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.23. 275,894 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,300. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $45.89 and a one year high of $74.56. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.40. 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 (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Ameris Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler Companies lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Raymond James 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $71.43.

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.