Janus Henderson Group PLC Reduces Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lessened its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 12.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 612,478 shares of the bank's stock after selling 88,314 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.89% of Ameris Bancorp worth $38,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,880 shares of the bank's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,975 shares of the bank's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,887 shares of the bank's stock valued at $431,000 after buying an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,020 shares of the bank's stock valued at $877,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,174 shares of the bank's stock valued at $324,000 after purchasing an additional 238 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded down $0.30 on Tuesday, hitting $63.06. 27,405 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 399,831. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $45.89 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $56.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.41. The company has a market cap of $4.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10 and a beta of 0.91.

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, beating 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 company had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James cut their price objective 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. Finally, 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 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.43.

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.