HB Wealth Management LLC Invests $352,000 in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

HB Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,622 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $352,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after buying an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,596,000 after acquiring an additional 79,060 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,861,000 after acquiring an additional 12,054 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 809,338 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,495,000 after acquiring an additional 19,506 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 9.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 728,253 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,436,000 after purchasing an additional 60,448 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $64.19 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.53. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $44.22 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37 and a beta of 1.06.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 16.67%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on ABCB shares. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp 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.