As of May 20, 2023, MQS Management LLC has recently entered the fray of shareholders in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ: ABCB). In its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the fund reportedly purchased 9,835 shares in the bank’s stock. The market value of this position is approximately $464,000. This purchase makes them new players in the ABCB game.
Another significant addition to Ameris Bancorp’s roster of shareholders is CFO Nicole S. Stokes, who acquired 1,000 shares of its business’s stock on May 10th. Her acquisition concluded with an average cost of $29.07 per share or a total transaction value of $29,070.00. Afterward, Stokes was reported to possess ownership of 34,894 shares worth more than $1 million.
Director William I. Jr. Bowen similarly bought 670 shares for $27,604 on March 10th at an average price point of $41.20 per share. Currently retaining about 22,872 directly owned company shares valued at nearly a million dollars ($942,326.40). For insiders’ stock purchases alone over the last three months ($1,006,114), they now hold up to about a little over five and a half percent (5.50%) of total company stocks owned.
Shares for NASDAQ ABCB reportedly traded down by eighty cents ($0.80) during trading hours on Friday five months back- which amounts to approximately May 20th in chronological terms- resulting in reaching only thirty-one dollars and fourteen cents ($31.14) compared to its usual volume range with about ninety-eight thousand eight hundred twenty trades made instead against nearly half a million usually executed trade exchanges within that day across different markets.
Despite this small dip observed from previous market trends within these five months mentioned above until today’s present (i.e., September 20, 2023), it remains a fact that Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ: ABCB) still carries a market capitalization of an impressive $2.16 billion. Notably, along with the company’s other essential financial ratios- such as its price-to-earnings ratio of 6.81, beta of 1.09, and current quick-and-debt-to-equity ratios- despite trading beyond its former fifty-two-week high of $54.24 in the first quarter to $28.33 recently before bouncing back to just around $40+ in July or August this year – reiterating ABCB’s momentum towards increasing equitable values for all its stakeholders involved in terms of a nearly four-year study conducted by financial experts worldwide.
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Changes in Investor Profile and Analyst Coverage Affect Ameris Bancorp’s Stock Performance
Ameris Bancorp, a financial company listed on NASDAQ under the ticker symbol ABCB, has recently seen significant changes in its investor profile. According to reports released on May 20, 2023, Belpointe Asset Management LLC has obtained a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the fourth quarter of 2022. This newly-acquired stake is valued at approximately $29,000 and marks an expansion in the holdings of Ameris Bancorp by Belpointe Asset Management LLC. Furthermore, CWM LLC has boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 89.5% during Q3 2022. Federated Hermes Inc., another institutional investor, also increased their holdings by 41.9% during Q3 of the same year.
In addition to these institutional changes, several research analysts have provided latest insights into Ameris Bancorp’s stock performance. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $54 from $1 and Piper Sandler decreased their price objective from $51 to $46 in recent research notes. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a “sell” rating while Stephens began coverage on Ameris Bancorp with an “equal weight” rating and a target price goal of $41 per share.
Recent events have also led to insider activity within Ameris Bancorp that merits notice. CFO Nicole S. Stokes acquired 1,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at a total transaction cost of $29,070 while Director William I. Jr Bowen purchased 670 shares valued at a total value of $27,604.
Ameris Bancorp reported earnings data for Q1 2023 recently too which showed it shares fell short of expectations as it had an EPS value of $.86 compared to consensus estimates of $1.20.The post-tax profits recorded for this period were above the same period in the previous year, although they showed a net margin of 25.82%, which was much lower than what analysts had expected. Financial insiders and sell-side analysts have projected that Ameris Bancorp is expected to post earnings per share of $4.40 for the current financial year.
Finally, Ameris Bancorp issued a quarterly dividend payment to its shareholders on April 10, 2023. A $0.15 dividend payout was reported for those shareholders who were recorded on March 31st, 2023.
As it stands today, Ameris Bancorp has attracted attention due to the significant changes in its investor profile and analyst coverage over a relatively short timeline. The company’s stock price has proven quite volatile in recent trading sessions as investors wait to learn more information about its future plans and goals. It remains uncertain how this will impact Ameris Bancorp’s longer-term prospects or what steps the company may take to address these challenges moving forward.
