Foundry Partners LLC Buys New Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 72,261 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $4,521,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 24.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 94,887 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,920,000 after purchasing an additional 18,822 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 29.8% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 22,781 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,421,000 after acquiring an additional 5,225 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 148,381 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,257,000 after acquiring an additional 3,280 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $237,000. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 53.4% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 price target for the company. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 target price (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.33.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $50.64 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 12 month low of $44.23 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The company has a market cap of $3.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $61.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $63.70.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 15.36%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, insider Douglas D. Strange bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $56.95 per share, with a total value of $56,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 19,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,105,000.85. This represents a 5.43 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.