Northern Trust Corp Grows Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 711,481 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 51,178 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp owned 1.03% of Ameris Bancorp worth $44,517,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,762,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $314,000. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $158,490,000 after acquiring an additional 208,000 shares during the period. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. now owns 144,100 shares of the bank's stock worth $9,016,000 after purchasing an additional 16,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 52,853 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,308,000 after purchasing an additional 4,592 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded up $0.63 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $63.55. The stock had a trading volume of 444,324 shares, compared to its average volume of 455,135. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $45.89 and a 12 month high of $74.56. 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 capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $56.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.38.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several 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 research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Piper Sandler Companies lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $71.43.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.