Bessemer Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 8.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 523,030 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,046 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $40,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 316.9% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,059 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 805 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler lowered Ameris Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $96.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Raymond James Financial downgraded Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, Stephens boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $92.67.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $92.17 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.91. 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 52-week low of $64.64 and a 52-week high of $93.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.76.

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

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.