Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Increases Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 710,114 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,237 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp accounts for 0.6% of Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $45,944,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,311.8% in the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 73.2% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 533 shares during the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 52.5% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,777 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,000 after buying an additional 612 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABCB shares. DA Davidson raised shares of Ameris Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $77.33.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $74.27 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $48.27 and a 12-month high of $76.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $73.35 and its 200 day moving average is $68.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.25 and a beta of 1.04.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.