Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Intech Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 26.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 46,340 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 16,316 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Ameris Bancorp worth $2,998,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of ABCB. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 47.0% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 23,229 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 7,429 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 16,566 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,072,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares during the last quarter. Jacksonville Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $208,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 14,862 shares of the bank’s stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 843 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,573,486 shares of the bank’s stock worth $101,815,000 after buying an additional 11,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABCB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. DA Davidson upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $77.33.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB opened at $71.93 on Thursday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $48.27 and a 12-month high of $76.58. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.91 billion, a PE ratio of 13.81 and a beta of 1.04. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.61.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, October 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the bank to buy up to 4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.