Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Stock Sold by Summit Creek Advisors LLC

Summit Creek Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) by 10.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,683 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 7,037 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp makes up approximately 2.0% of Summit Creek Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Summit Creek Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $5,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $607,000. BIP Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,025,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $3,041,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 129.9% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 44,069 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,437,000 after acquiring an additional 24,900 shares during the period. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter valued at about $22,909,000. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB opened at $81.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $82.20 and a 200 day moving average of $83.76. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $69.58 and a fifty-two week high of $93.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $320.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.72 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 22.47% and a return on equity of 10.81%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 24th. Stephens set a $88.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings assumed coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They issued a “buy (b)” rating on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.50.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) is a bank holding company and the parent company of Ameris Bank, a full-service financial institution serving individuals, businesses and communities primarily across the southeastern United States.

Ameris Bank offers a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management and wealth management services.