New York State Teachers Retirement System Reduces Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 2.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 35,849 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,073 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.05% of Ameris Bancorp worth $2,237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $3,869,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $1,154,000. Seven Eight Capital LP lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 218.6% during the 1st quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP now owns 22,363 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after buying an additional 15,343 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 181.3% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 52,029 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,517,000 after buying an additional 33,531 shares during the period. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $460,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In other Ameris Bancorp news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $69.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.86. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $38.71 and a one year high of $71.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 20.08% and a return on equity of 9.18%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.86%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ABCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $61.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $66.67.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.