Twinbeech Capital LP Invests $2.30 Million in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Twinbeech Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 36,762 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,300,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Picton Mahoney Asset Management boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2,436.8% during the fourth quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management now owns 482 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,113 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 167.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,431 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 896 shares during the period. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on ABCB. Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price on the stock. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Piper Sandler Companies increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $61.64 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.41. The stock has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $45.89 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.30%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. The trade was a 5.43% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 5.40% of the company’s stock.

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.