Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Shares Sold by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al trimmed its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) by 84.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,123 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 28,400 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ABCB. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth $881,798,000. North Reef Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% in the 1st quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 3,423,243 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $266,979,000 after purchasing an additional 686,215 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 1,202,889 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $95,654,000 after purchasing an additional 10,619 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $82,463,000 after purchasing an additional 90,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Davis Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $56,124,000. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of ABCB opened at $81.79 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.03. The company has a market cap of $5.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.30 and a beta of 0.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $82.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.76. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $69.58 and a 52-week high of $93.22.

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE:ABCB) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The bank reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.05. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.81% and a net margin of 22.47%. The company had revenue of $320.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $326.72 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 6.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 27th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 24th. Stephens set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings began coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, September 2nd. They set a “buy (b)” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.50.

About Ameris Bancorp

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) is a bank holding company and the parent company of Ameris Bank, a full-service financial institution serving individuals, businesses and communities primarily across the southeastern United States.

Ameris Bank offers a range of banking products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer loans, residential mortgages, commercial and industrial lending, commercial real estate financing, treasury management and wealth management services.