Phocas Financial Corp. Has $1.71 Million Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Phocas Financial Corp. lowered its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 85.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 27,380 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 155,642 shares during the quarter. Ameris Bancorp accounts for approximately 1.3% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $51,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,332 shares of the bank’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.2 %

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $63.28 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $44.22 and a fifty-two week high of $74.56. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $64.20 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $4.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15 and a beta of 1.06.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.26%. This is a positive change from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABCB. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $71.00 price objective (up from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $70.50.

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.