Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Shares Sold by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 71.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 12,226 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 31,142 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% during the second quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 13,720 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $890,000 after buying an additional 900 shares during the last quarter. Capital Fund Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,663,000. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at about $10,528,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% in the third quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 969,680 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,087,000 after purchasing an additional 26,639 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 55.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 62,656 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 22,377 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on ABCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Truist Financial assumed coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “hold” rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.57.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB opened at $76.07 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $74.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.38. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $78.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.60 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Monday, October 20th that allows the company to repurchase $200.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the bank to reacquire up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is 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.