Ieq Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 7,929 Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 7,929 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $496,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in 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 in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the 4th 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 period. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $98,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $71.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $70.50.

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Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $1.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $64.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 401,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 380,871. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.22 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $64.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $64.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.06.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given 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 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.