Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Shares Sold by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue cut its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 2.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,840 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 851 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned 0.05% of Ameris Bancorp worth $2,063,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $48,380,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $59,570,000 after buying an additional 223,805 shares during the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% in the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $158,490,000 after buying an additional 208,000 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 150.3% during the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 288,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,039,000 after purchasing an additional 173,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 136.2% during the 4th quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 196,964 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,324,000 after purchasing an additional 113,571 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 2.5%

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $62.44 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $59.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $61.04. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $47.65 and a 1 year high of $74.56. 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 Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $285.86 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 14.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 4th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $74.00 target price for the company. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $63.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler Companies upped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.43.

Ameris Bancorp 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.