Verition Fund Management LLC Makes New Investment in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 187,261 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,908,000. Verition Fund Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Ameris Bancorp at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,687,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,256,000 after purchasing an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $671,000 after purchasing an additional 3,129 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,767,000 after purchasing an additional 13,633 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 1.6%

ABCB opened at $87.49 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $59.54 and a one year high of $90.00. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $80.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.28 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Ameris Bancorp Profile

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.