Emerald Advisers LLC Sells 22,779 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Emerald Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 16.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 113,279 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,779 shares during the quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC owned 0.16% of Ameris Bancorp worth $7,329,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% during the first quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. State of Wyoming raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 8.3% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,346 shares of the bank’s stock worth $135,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.9% during the second quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 9,535 shares of the bank’s stock worth $617,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% during the second quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 24,303 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 73.2% during the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, DA Davidson raised Ameris Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $72.24 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $73.52 and a 200-day moving average of $66.80. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $76.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.94.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.08%.

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.