Oak Ridge Investments LLC Makes New $2.37 Million Investment in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Oak Ridge Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 32,315 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,369,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 10.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,359 shares of the bank’s stock worth $134,405,000 after purchasing an additional 202,165 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,573,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $101,815,000 after buying an additional 11,909 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 67.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,218,958 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,867,000 after buying an additional 490,602 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 969,680 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,087,000 after acquiring an additional 26,639 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,624,000. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective 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. Truist Financial set a $83.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 9th. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock opened at $79.99 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $76.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.94. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.35 and a beta of 0.99. 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 $48.27 and a 12 month high of $81.61.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, October 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the bank to repurchase up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.