Key Points
- Director William Stern bought 308 shares on December 8 at an average price of $77.22, increasing his stake to 47,276 shares (about $3.65M) — the transaction was disclosed in an SEC filing.
- Ameris Bancorp recently paid a $0.20 quarterly dividend (annualized $0.80, ~1.0% yield, payout ratio 13.84%) and its board approved a $200 million share buyback program (up to ~4% of outstanding shares), signaling management sees value in the stock.
- The stock trades around $78.18 (near its 12‑month high of $78.75) with a $5.34B market cap, and analysts rate the shares a “Moderate Buy” on average with a $78.57 consensus target.
Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) Director William Stern acquired 308 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $77.22 per share, with a total value of $23,783.76. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 47,276 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,650,652.72. This represents a 0.66% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.
Ameris Bancorp Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded up $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $78.18. The stock had a trading volume of 42,142 shares, compared to its average volume of 426,905. The company has a market capitalization of $5.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.00 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $73.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.07. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $48.27 and a twelve month high of $78.75.
Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 13.84%.
Ameris Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, October 20th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to repurchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp
Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 17.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,018 shares of the bank's stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 31.6% in the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 188,091 shares of the bank's stock valued at $10,828,000 after purchasing an additional 45,153 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 16.3% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 52,693 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,034,000 after buying an additional 7,372 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter worth approximately $1,774,000. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial began coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a "hold" rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. DA Davidson started coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $80.00 price objective (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.57.
View Our Latest Report on ABCB
Ameris Bancorp Company Profile
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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