California State Teachers Retirement System Buys 13,486 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System increased its Ameris Bancorp stake by 21.8% in the first quarter, acquiring 13,486 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 75,346 shares worth about $5.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.6% of ABCB.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with three Buy ratings and four Hold ratings; the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $91.67. Recent targets range from $88 to $100.
• Ameris Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.60, below the $1.66 consensus estimate, while revenue of $317.8 million also missed expectations. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.9% yield.

California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 21.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 75,346 shares of the bank's stock after acquiring an additional 13,486 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.11% of Ameris Bancorp worth $5,876,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ABCB. North Reef Capital Management LP raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 25.1% during 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. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,199,365 shares of the bank's stock valued at $238,250,000 after buying an additional 12,475 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,214 shares of the bank's stock valued at $129,320,000 after buying an additional 414,920 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,083,272 shares of the bank's stock valued at $80,455,000 after acquiring an additional 14,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,463,000 after acquiring an additional 90,883 shares during the period. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Stephens set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $91.67.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Down 0.6%

Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $88.91 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $88.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $65.90 and a one year high of $93.22. The stock has a market cap of $5.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07 and a beta of 0.91.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $317.78 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $323.78 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.59 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.47%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.

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