Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 55,473 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $78,829,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 38.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,000 after buying an additional 1,868 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $143,000. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 105.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $62.81 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $60.12. Ameris Bancorp has a 1-year low of $44.00 and a 1-year high of $74.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09 and a beta of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS 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 analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Raymond James raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research note 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 company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens raised 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.17.

Ameris Bancorp 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.