Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Purchased by Oberweis Asset Management Inc.

Oberweis Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 144,100 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 16,200 shares during the period. Oberweis Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.21% of Ameris Bancorp worth $9,016,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% in the 4th quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank's stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank's stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on ABCB. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler assumed coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler Companies lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Raymond James reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 19,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 4.5 %

Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $2.55 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.51. 459,687 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 390,499. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $45.89 and a 1 year high of $74.56. The firm has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $56.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.64.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. Ameris Bancorp's revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 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, April 7th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.