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

The third-quarter stock market correction has turned out to resemble the situation observed during the Asian financial crisis of 1997. The two relatively short-lived corrections occurred at a time with stable interest rates, falling commodity markets, with strong-performing technology and healthcare sectors, and struggling energy sector. Similarly, the two corrections followed long periods without a correction, which had to come sooner or later and it did. Even so, several prominent hedge fund investors publicly asserted their bearish view on the current state of the U.S. equity markets, suggesting that they significantly cut their exposure to equities during the latest quarter. Having said that, it would be worthwhile to take a look at the hedge fund sentiment on Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in order to identify whether reputable and successful top money managers continue to believe in its potential.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has seen a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds of late. At the end of this article we will also compare ABCB to other stocks, including Primoris Services Corp (NASDAQ:PRIM), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), and Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) to get a better sense of its popularity.

According to most stock holders, hedge funds are assumed to be slow, old investment vehicles of yesteryear. While there are greater than 8000 funds in operation at present, Our researchers look at the moguls of this club, around 700 funds. These hedge fund managers watch over the majority of the smart money’s total capital, and by following their top stock picks, Insider Monkey has unearthed several investment strategies that have historically outstripped the S&P 500 index. Insider Monkey’s small-cap hedge fund strategy outpaced the S&P 500 index by 12 percentage points a year for a decade in their back tests.

Now, we’re going to check out the new action regarding Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB).

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

At the end of the third quarter, a total of 18 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey held long positions in this stock, a change of -5% from the second quarter. With hedge funds’ positions undergoing their usual ebb and flow, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were boosting their stakes significantly (or already accumulated large positions).

According to Insider Monkey’s hedge fund database, Polaris Capital Management, managed by Bernard Horn, holds the largest position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB). Polaris Capital Management has a $21.9 million position in the stock, comprising 2.7% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is Renaissance Technologies, holding a $14 million position; less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the company. Other hedge funds and institutional investors that hold long positions consist of Paul Magidson, Jonathan Cohen. And Ostrom Enders’s Castine Capital Management, Anton Schutz’s Mendon Capital Advisors and William Black’s Consector Capital.

Judging by the fact that Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) has witnessed bearish sentiment from hedge fund managers, logic holds that there were a few hedge funds that elected to cut their positions entirely in the third quarter. Interestingly, Andy Redleaf’s Whitebox Advisors dropped the largest position of all the hedgies followed by Insider Monkey, worth about $1.6 million in stock, and John Overdeck and David Siegel’s Two Sigma Advisors was right behind this move, as the fund cut about $0,6 million worth. These moves are important to note, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 1 funds in the third quarter.

Let’s check out hedge fund activity in other stocks – not necessarily in the same industry as Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) but similarly valued. We will take a look at Primoris Services Corp (NASDAQ:PRIM), Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE:BKS), Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN), and Q2 Holdings Inc (NYSE:QTWO). This group of stocks’ market caps resemble ABCB’s market cap.

As you can see these stocks had an average of 20 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $123 million, versus $78 million in ABCB’s case. Gray Television, Inc. (NYSE:GTN) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Primoris Services Corp (NASDAQ:PRIM) is the least popular one with only 6 bullish hedge fund positions. Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard GTN might be a better candidate to consider a long position.