Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Bought by New York State Common Retirement Fund

New York State Common Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 276,624 shares of the bank’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,090 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned 0.40% of Ameris Bancorp worth $14,675,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prospector Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,924,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,547,134 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $97,784,000 after acquiring an additional 90,694 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 81.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 178,961 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,870,000 after acquiring an additional 80,466 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,049,000. Finally, Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 704,319 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,039,000 after acquiring an additional 46,874 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total transaction of $355,125.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 59,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABCB shares. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.3 %

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $48.50 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.33 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $46.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.05 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 18.06%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.24%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.60%.

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.