Inspire Investing LLC Sells 205 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,425 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 205 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $402,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.1% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $780,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 14.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 4,236 shares of the bank’s stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 526 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 23,599 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,472,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $64.35 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.22 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.72.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This represents a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABCB. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lifted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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.