Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 3.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,258,436 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 39,478 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $92,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $53,624,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 98,682.6% in the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 351,666 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $25,780,000 after acquiring an additional 351,310 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 54.6% during the 2nd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 777,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,279,000 after purchasing an additional 274,417 shares in the last quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 55.5% in the 2nd quarter. Davis Asset Management L.P. now owns 621,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,230,000 after purchasing an additional 221,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 10.8% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,359 shares of the bank’s stock worth $134,405,000 after purchasing an additional 202,165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $79.68 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $79.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.77. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.29 and a beta of 0.99. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $48.27 and a 12-month high of $87.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $309.92 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.48 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.38 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 13.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson set a $94.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.