Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Sells 9,643 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 51.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,232 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 9,643 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2,311.8% during the second quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 410 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 73.2% in the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 492 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1,567.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. 91.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ABCB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial set a $83.00 price objective on Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Piper Sandler set a $84.00 price target on Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson initiated coverage on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $80.00 target price (up previously from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.83.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 0.9%

ABCB stock opened at $82.78 on Friday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $48.27 and a 12 month high of $83.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $76.71 and its 200 day moving average is $73.27. The company has a market capitalization of $5.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to repurchase $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the bank to buy up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp 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.