19,900 Shares in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Purchased by Strs Ohio

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has invested approximately $1.15 million in 19,900 shares of Ameris Bancorp as part of its new position in the bank's stock.
• Investment analysts have set a target price of $81.00 for Ameris Bancorp, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from six analysts.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.1%, payable to shareholders on October 6th.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 19,900 shares of the bank's stock, valued at approximately $1,146,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Square Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 84.1% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 731 shares of the bank's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 334 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $128,000. State of Wyoming boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.3% in the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 2,346 shares of the bank's stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1,120.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,904 shares of the bank's stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded down $0.60 during trading on Friday, hitting $75.81. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,225,337 shares, compared to its average volume of 428,940. 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 fifty-two week low of $48.27 and a fifty-two week high of $76.58. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $70.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $63.20. The company has a market capitalization of $5.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.55 and a beta of 0.97.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp's payout ratio is 14.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson set a $81.00 target price on Ameris Bancorp and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $72.14.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.