Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Stake Lessened by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCBFree Report) by 44.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 362,194 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 295,337 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned about 0.53% of Ameris Bancorp worth $26,900,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MQS Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $389,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 19,510 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,449,000 after purchasing an additional 4,899 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 12,853 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,054 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 5,437 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $404,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the subject of several recent research reports. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.17.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.0%

ABCB stock opened at $84.72 on Tuesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $59.54 and a 1-year high of $87.99. The firm has a market cap of $5.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26 and a beta of 0.93. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $81.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.33.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCBGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The company had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.58%.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

(Free Report)

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Further Reading

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

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