Hancock Whitney Corp Acquires New Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 9,638 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $466,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,791 shares of the bank’s stock worth $891,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 80.6% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 15,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 7,017 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 30,112 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,597,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $219,000. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded down $2.29 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $58.60. 222,860 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 365,169. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average is $51.44 and its 200 day moving average is $49.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 1.04. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $34.26 and a one year high of $64.88.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $436.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.67 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 8.97%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.67 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $52.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.20.

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.