Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust Has $287,000 Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust lowered its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 91.7% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,442 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 49,165 shares during the quarter. Emerald Mutual Fund Advisers Trust’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,479 shares of the bank’s stock worth $776,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,251 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $187,000 after buying an additional 264 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $128,000. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.3% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,251 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,051,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 5,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $288,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 1.0%

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $71.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $48.27 and a twelve month high of $76.58. The company has a market cap of $4.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.75 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average is $73.57 and its 200 day moving average is $66.84.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to repurchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.