Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd Acquires 33,800 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 171.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,500 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 33,800 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp makes up about 1.2% of Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd owned approximately 0.08% of Ameris Bancorp worth $3,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.0%

ABCB stock opened at $63.55 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $45.89 and a 52-week high of $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $56.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.39.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. Ameris Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.20 dividend. 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 1.26%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 14.81%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler Companies raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James dropped 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 initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $71.43.

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.

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