Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $2.22 Million Position in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,500 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $2,223,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd boosted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 395.4% during the 3rd quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 748 shares of the bank’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. 91.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens boosted their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Ameris Bancorp to an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.17.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

ABCB stock opened at $90.27 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $85.74 and a 200-day moving average of $81.50. The firm has a market cap of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.33 and a beta of 0.91. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $64.30 and a 12-month high of $91.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $309.58 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.58%.

Ameris Bancorp Company 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.