Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Shares Sold by Penn Capital Management Company LLC

Penn Capital Management Company LLC decreased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 270,921 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,642 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp accounts for about 1.6% of Penn Capital Management Company LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Penn Capital Management Company LLC owned approximately 0.40% of Ameris Bancorp worth $20,171,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ABCB. Royal Bank of Canada raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,687,000 after purchasing an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 13,633 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.17.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $85.81 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $59.54 and a fifty-two week high of $87.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $81.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $79.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 16.47 and a beta of 0.93.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The company had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.58 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

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.