Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Cuts Stake in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Key Points

• Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.9% during the first quarter, owning approximately 4.28 million shares valued at $246.22 million.
• Ameris Bancorp's stock has seen a slight decline of 0.5%, trading at $69.66, with analysts setting a consensus target price of $72.14 and a mixed rating of "Moderate Buy."
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20, representing an annual yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 14.08%.

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,276,977 shares of the bank's stock after selling 39,149 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 6.21% of Ameris Bancorp worth $246,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 2,533,000 shares of the bank's stock worth $158,490,000 after buying an additional 208,000 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,202,000. Congress Asset Management Co. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 933,493 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,741,000 after buying an additional 111,939 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 711,481 shares of the bank's stock worth $44,517,000 after buying an additional 51,178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 680,198 shares of the bank's stock worth $42,563,000 after buying an additional 65,855 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. DA Davidson set a $81.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB traded up $2.9860 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $72.0760. 837,000 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 428,596. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a 50-day moving average of $66.65 and a 200 day moving average of $62.10. 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 has a 1-year low of $48.27 and a 1-year high of $74.56.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is currently 14.08%.

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.