MidFirst Bank Invests $433,000 in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 5,831 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $433,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,256,000 after purchasing an additional 39,478 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,981,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,232,000 after purchasing an additional 91,043 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 196,564 shares of the bank’s stock worth $14,410,000 after purchasing an additional 15,006 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,667,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 996,786 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,031,000 after purchasing an additional 27,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB stock opened at $87.65 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $84.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $80.92. The company has a market capitalization of $5.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.82 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 fifty-two week low of $60.53 and a fifty-two week high of $90.00.

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

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.