Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Sold by Bard Associates Inc.

Bard Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 4.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 11,559 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 570 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $723,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,869,000. Seven Eight Capital LP grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 218.6% in the 1st quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 22,363 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,082,000 after acquiring an additional 15,343 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth $460,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.6% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 851,240 shares of the bank’s stock worth $42,860,000 after purchasing an additional 13,418 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $1,059,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on ABCB shares. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.67.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB opened at $69.62 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $63.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $40.71 and a 1 year high of $72.68. The stock has a market cap of $4.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

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.