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

Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 171.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,500 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 33,800 shares during the period. Ameris Bancorp makes up approximately 1.2% of Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Quantedge Capital Pte Ltd owned about 0.08% of Ameris Bancorp worth $3,347,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock valued at $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 158.2% in the 4th 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 bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $385,000. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $1,195,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded down $0.52 on Monday, reaching $62.93. 95,039 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 400,613. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $56.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.40. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $45.89 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The company has a market cap of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. 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 previous 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, equities research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.27%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange acquired 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 5.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ABCB. Raymond James decreased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens restated 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 assumed coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.