New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

New York State Common Retirement Fund trimmed its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 8.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 232,113 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 22,196 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $14,523,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 3,819 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 821,554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,405,000 after acquiring an additional 12,216 shares during the period. Vicus Capital purchased a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Savant Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 7,371 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ABCB has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $71.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $71.00 price target (up previously from $67.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $70.50.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $63.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $64.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $63.89. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $44.22 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The company has a market capitalization of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.06.

Ameris Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Ameris Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 15.36%.

Ameris Bancorp 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.