Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Sold by Bard Associates Inc.

Bard Associates Inc. trimmed its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,559 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. Bard Associates Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $232,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,861,000 after buying an additional 12,054 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 29.0% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 8,007 shares of the bank’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,801 shares during the period. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $349,000. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $231,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $69.62 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.01. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $40.71 and a 12-month high of $72.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $63.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.64.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The firm had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

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.