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

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 183,022 shares of the bank's stock after selling 11,293 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.26% of Ameris Bancorp worth $11,419,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter worth approximately $190,000. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 7.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 13,315 shares of the bank's stock worth $644,000 after buying an additional 913 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,560,371 shares of the bank's stock valued at $365,771,000 after acquiring an additional 92,491 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP raised 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 acquiring an additional 15,343 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 54,174 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,616,000 after acquiring an additional 2,366 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $68.38. 82,172 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 363,559. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 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 firm has a market capitalization of $4.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $63.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $57.06.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Truist Financial lowered 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. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stephens upped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report 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 report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Two equities research 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $66.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.