Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Sold by PL Capital Advisors LLC

PL Capital Advisors LLC reduced its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 27.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 78,497 shares of the bank's stock after selling 30,000 shares during the period. Ameris Bancorp makes up about 1.4% of PL Capital Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest position. PL Capital Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.11% of Ameris Bancorp worth $4,164,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the bank's stock worth $175,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. KLR Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $209,000. Xponance Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $218,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $47.88. The company's stock had a trading volume of 474,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,858. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $46.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.27. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.04. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 18.06%. The business had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.86 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 14.60%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $355,125.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 59,691 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on ABCB. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Ameris Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $50.25.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.