Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Stock Position Lowered by Guardian Capital Advisors LP

Guardian Capital Advisors LP lessened its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,600 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,300 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital Advisors LP’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth $190,000. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $203,000. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $205,000. Finally, Xponance Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth $211,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ABCB. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $52.00.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Friday, hitting $61.71. 486,659 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 451,164. Ameris Bancorp has a twelve month low of $34.26 and a twelve month high of $63.80. The company has a market cap of $4.26 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01 and a beta of 1.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $50.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $49.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.14 by $0.03. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 19.28% and a return on equity of 9.07%. The firm had revenue of $436.03 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $273.67 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Sunday, June 30th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 28th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.60%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.