Fiduciary Group LLC Trims Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Fiduciary Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 6.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,700 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Fiduciary Group LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Xponance Inc. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $218,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $219,000. Finally, GW Henssler & Associates Ltd. bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $235,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $48.50 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $46.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $53.99.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.05 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 18.06%. The company’s revenue was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.60%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

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.