Citigroup Inc. Has $8.87 Million Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 32.5% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 142,122 shares of the bank’s stock after buying an additional 34,881 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $8,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 5.7% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 45,663 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,210,000 after purchasing an additional 2,443 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.8% in the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 27,324 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,322,000 after buying an additional 1,982 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 11,502 shares of the bank’s stock worth $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $70.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $65.06 and its 200-day moving average is $58.10. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $42.25 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.50%.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.67.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.