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

New York State Teachers Retirement System decreased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 31,003 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 400 shares during the quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,645,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $31,774,000. State Street Corp grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 14.3% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,897,720 shares of the bank’s stock worth $171,622,000 after acquiring an additional 488,485 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 67.5% during the second quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,060,813 shares of the bank’s stock worth $36,290,000 after acquiring an additional 427,511 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 7.4% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,201,328 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $228,235,000 after purchasing an additional 358,777 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 61.7% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 742,231 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,151,000 after purchasing an additional 283,307 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, January 15th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $50.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of Ameris Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $2,826,368.85. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB opened at $44.44 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $46.70 and a 200 day moving average of $45.79. The stock has a market cap of $3.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $28.33 and a 52-week high of $53.99.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.12 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $262.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $267.23 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.30% and a net margin of 17.67%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.38%.

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.