Short Interest in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Drops By 8.9%

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) saw a large decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,330,000 shares, a decline of 8.9% from the March 15th total of 1,460,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 393,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $45.16 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $3.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.05. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $28.33 and a 12-month high of $53.99. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.69.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 15.38%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Jon S. Edwards sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.35, for a total value of $355,125.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 59,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,826,368.85. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ameris Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $41,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 41.9% during the 3rd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,269 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 26.2% in the 4th quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,294 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 202.5% in the 1st quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 2,211 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, January 15th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $50.25.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.