Summit Creek Advisors LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Summit Creek Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 7.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 213,726 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,971 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp accounts for about 2.3% of Summit Creek Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Summit Creek Advisors LLC owned 0.31% of Ameris Bancorp worth $15,668,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 10.8% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,077,359 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $134,405,000 after purchasing an additional 202,165 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,218,958 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,867,000 after buying an additional 490,602 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its stake in 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 buying an additional 26,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,624,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial set a $83.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, DA Davidson started coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Five 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.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.00.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ABCB opened at $79.10 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $48.27 and a 52-week high of $79.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.48. The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.18 and a beta of 0.99.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Ameris Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to reacquire up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp 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.