Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Acquired by De Lisle Partners LLP

De Lisle Partners LLP increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,968 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,184,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank’s stock worth $780,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.8% in the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,359 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $924,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $70.89 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.92. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $41.86 and a 1-year high of $74.56. 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 company has a market cap of $4.90 billion, a PE ratio of 14.77 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released 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. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ABCB. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

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.