Is Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) Going to Burn These Hedge Funds?

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) was in 6 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the first quarter of 2013. ABCB shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 6 hedge funds in our database with ABCB holdings at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are a multitude of indicators investors can use to monitor publicly traded companies. A pair of the most innovative are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the best fund managers can outclass the market by a very impressive amount (see just how much).

Just as beneficial, bullish insider trading activity is another way to break down the marketplace. Just as you’d expect, there are a variety of stimuli for a bullish insider to drop shares of his or her company, but only one, very simple reason why they would buy. Several empirical studies have demonstrated the valuable potential of this method if investors understand what to do (learn more here).

Keeping this in mind, it’s important to take a peek at the key action regarding Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB).

What does the smart money think about Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)?

Heading into Q2, a total of 6 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 0% from the first quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably.

According to our comprehensive database, Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, holds the most valuable position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB). Polaris Capital Management has a $36.9 million position in the stock, comprising 2.2% of its 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by Ken Gray and Steve Walsh of Bryn Mawr Capital, with a $12.1 million position; 0.9% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Some other hedgies with similar optimism include Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors.

Due to the fact that Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has witnessed a declination in interest from the aggregate hedge fund industry, it’s safe to say that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that slashed their full holdings at the end of the first quarter. It’s worth mentioning that Roger Keith Long’s Otter Creek Management cut the biggest investment of all the hedgies we key on, totaling close to $1.3 million in stock. These transactions are important to note, as aggregate hedge fund interest stayed the same (this is a bearish signal in our experience).

What do corporate executives and insiders think about Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)?

Insider purchases made by high-level executives is at its handiest when the company in question has seen transactions within the past 180 days. Over the latest half-year time frame, Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has seen 1 unique insiders purchasing, and 1 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s also review hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB). These stocks are WSFS Financial Corporation (NASDAQ:WSFS), Financial Institutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FISI), Stellarone Corp (NASDAQ:STEL), First Community Bancshares Inc (NASDAQ:FCBC), and Southside Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:SBSI). This group of stocks belong to the regional – mid-atlantic banks industry and their market caps are closest to ABCB’s market cap.

With the returns shown by the aforementioned time-tested strategies, retail investors should always pay attention to hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) shareholders fit into this picture quite nicely.

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