Davis Asset Management L.P. Acquires Shares of 621,800 Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 621,800 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $56,124,000. Ameris Bancorp makes up about 1.4% of Davis Asset Management L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $45,000. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $51,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth about $67,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $76,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $86.14 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $88.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.45. The company has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.53 and a beta of 0.92. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $68.80 and a 1-year high of $93.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $317.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.78 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 firm posted $1.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.47%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial lowered Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Truist Financial cut their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Stephens set a $88.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.67.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.