Gator Capital Management LLC Buys Shares of 25,996 Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Gator Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 25,996 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $1,931,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $89.09 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $6.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.10 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $84.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $80.51. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $59.54 and a 52 week high of $89.22.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.28 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on ABCB. Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.17.

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.