Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 11,293 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Phocas Financial Corp. decreased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 5.8% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 183,022 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 11,293 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $11,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its stake 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 valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 15,343 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 13,418 shares during the period. Choreo LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at $1,059,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $233,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.2 %

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $68.78 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $57.06. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $40.71 and a one year high of $72.68. The firm has a market cap of $4.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company 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 note on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.67.

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.