Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $71.78 Million Stock Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 966,464 shares of the bank's stock after selling 16,490 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.41% of Ameris Bancorp worth $71,779,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 51.5% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 547 shares of the bank's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $45,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% during the third quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $86.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $80.15 and a 200-day moving average of $78.37. The company has a market cap of $5.90 billion, a PE ratio of 16.58 and a beta of 0.93. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $59.54 and a one year high of $87.99.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.57% and a net margin of 21.46%.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 prior year, the business earned $1.28 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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, April 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 31st. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ABCB. Stephens lifted their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial raised their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Ameris Bancorp from $82.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, April 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.17.

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.

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