Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Makes New $314,000 Investment in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,020 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock valued at $83,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank's stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $60.46 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $45.89 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.47.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Ameris Bancorp's quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 14.81%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly 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 purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. 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. Piper Sandler Companies increased their price target on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.

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