Public Sector Pension Investment Board Sells 5,200 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Public Sector Pension Investment Board lowered its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,188 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 5,200 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $8,559,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the second quarter worth $33,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 66.1% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 326 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 249.5% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 713 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 33.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,310 shares of the bank’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 3,396.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,923 shares of the bank’s stock worth $120,000 after acquiring an additional 1,868 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ ABCB opened at $70.28 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $42.25 and a twelve month high of $74.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.10. The firm has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.01.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $424.86 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $290.60 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.85%. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameris Bancorp

In other news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total transaction of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. This trade represents a 22.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James raised Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $66.67.

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.