Jennison Associates LLC Acquires New Stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 173,494 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $10,856,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 0.25% of Ameris Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $98,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,000 after purchasing an additional 1,868 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price target (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $67.88 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The company has a market capitalization of $4.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 1.06. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $44.22 and a 12 month high of $74.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $64.82 and a 200-day moving average of $63.23.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.18%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.36%.

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.