Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Raises Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 12.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,680 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,093 shares during the period. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 917,396 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $57,401,000 after buying an additional 10,256 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,405,000 after buying an additional 12,216 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $49,385,000 after acquiring an additional 19,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 728,253 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,436,000 after acquiring an additional 60,448 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ABCB. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 target price (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Douglas D. Strange purchased 1,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $56.95 per share, for a total transaction of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 2.8 %

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $59.41 on Tuesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $63.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.97. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $44.23 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Ameris Bancorp 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.