Cerity Partners LLC Has $1.27 Million Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 14.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,295 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,486 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,266,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $68.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.30 and a 200-day moving average of $58.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.00 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business 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 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.67.

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.