Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Stake Lifted by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 2,768.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,384 shares of the bank's stock after purchasing an additional 66,000 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.10% of Ameris Bancorp worth $4,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank's stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $98,000. US Bancorp DE increased its position 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 last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the bank's stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB traded up $0.13 on Friday, hitting $64.35. 359,197 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 319,035. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.06. The business's fifty day moving average is $65.55 and its 200 day moving average is $62.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 16.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.17.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.