Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 29,561 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Free Report) by 51.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,943 shares of the bank's stock after selling 29,561 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,609,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ABCB. North Reef Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 8.9% during the fourth 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 period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 952,058 shares of the bank's stock worth $59,570,000 after acquiring an additional 223,805 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. raised its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 13.6% in the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 933,493 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,741,000 after acquiring an additional 111,939 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 789,271 shares of the bank's stock valued at $49,385,000 after purchasing an additional 19,150 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,380,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.33. 182,354 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 401,636. The company's 50 day moving average price is $62.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.15. Ameris Bancorp has a 52 week low of $48.27 and a 52 week high of $74.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a PE ratio of 12.77 and a beta of 0.93.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 28th. The bank reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $285.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $276.06 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm's revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 7th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Ameris Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 14.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on ABCB. Piper Sandler Companies boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp to $74.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $63.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler started coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 4th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $74.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.43.

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.