Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Shares Bought by Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 6,188.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 18,236 shares of the bank’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,946 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 6,308 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 9,365 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,054 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $672,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 6,456 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 14,639 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,087,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $89.03 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $64.64 and a 12 month high of $93.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $87.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $317.78 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.78 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 12.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on ABCB shares. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Piper Sandler downgraded Ameris Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $96.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.67.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

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.