Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $53.53 Million Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 855,546 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,748 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 1.24% of Ameris Bancorp worth $53,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ABCB. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $98,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on ABCB. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $58.91 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market cap of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.31 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.16. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $44.22 and a 1 year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.36%.

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.