Venturi Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,675 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $250,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,405,000 after purchasing an additional 12,216 shares during the period. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,371 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 9,002 shares of the bank’s stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $63.39 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.31 and a 200-day moving average of $63.89. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $44.22 and a twelve month high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. 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.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $70.50.

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.