Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,896,626 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 128,156 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 0.06% of Ameris Bancorp worth $303,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 316.9% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ABCB shares. DA Davidson raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler downgraded Ameris Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $96.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $92.67.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB stock opened at $89.79 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $87.56 and a 200 day moving average of $83.14. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $64.64 and a 52 week high of $93.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.58 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

Ameris Bancorp Profile

Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Through its principal subsidiary, Ameris Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and retail banking services to individuals, small businesses, middle market companies and agricultural customers. Its core business lines encompass deposit services, lending solutions, treasury management, mortgage origination and servicing, insurance products and wealth management.

Ameris Bancorp operates a network of branches and loan production offices across the southeastern United States, including Georgia, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.