Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires Shares of 23,201 Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Key Points

• Lazard Asset Management initiated a new Ameris Bancorp stake, purchasing 23,201 shares valued at approximately $1.81 million. Institutional investors collectively own 91.6% of the bank’s outstanding stock.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight, while Raymond James downgraded it to market perform. The consensus rating is Hold, with an average price target of $91.67.
• Ameris Bancorp reported quarterly EPS of $1.60, below the $1.66 consensus estimate, while revenue of $317.78 million also missed expectations. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equivalent to a 0.9% annual yield.

Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,201 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,809,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. North Reef Capital Management LP lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,199,365 shares of the bank's stock worth $238,250,000 after buying an additional 12,475 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,741,214 shares of the bank's stock worth $129,320,000 after buying an additional 414,920 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,083,272 shares of the bank's stock worth $80,455,000 after buying an additional 14,735 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,057,347 shares of the bank's stock worth $82,463,000 after buying an additional 90,883 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on ABCB shares. Morgan Stanley raised Ameris Bancorp to an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Stephens set a $88.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Monday, July 27th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Truist Financial lowered their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.67.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $88.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $88.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $83.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.92 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $65.47 and a 52 week high of $93.22. 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 (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.66 by ($0.06). Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.The company had revenue of $317.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 EPS for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.47%.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.

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