Strs Ohio Sells 2,700 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Strs Ohio lowered its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 10.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,600 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 2,700 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,791 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $891,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,765 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $720,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 11.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,565 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 21,500 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $825,000 after buying an additional 481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,344 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, January 15th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $50.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock opened at $46.77 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.01. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $28.33 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $262.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $267.23 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.30% and a net margin of 17.67%. Research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 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.