American Century Companies Inc. Trims Stake in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

American Century Companies Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 9.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,881,046 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 196,313 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $137,900,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2,311.8% in the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% in the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 6.1%

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $77.55 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $5.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.89 and a beta of 0.99. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $48.27 and a 1 year high of $87.98. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.09.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.59 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $309.92 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $310.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.38 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on ABCB. DA Davidson set a $94.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $79.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.50.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.