Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Stock Position Reduced by Jennison Associates LLC

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 20.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,390,012 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 351,202 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $108,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth $45,000. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth $51,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 316.9% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,059 shares of the bank’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 805 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Piper Sandler lowered shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $96.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $92.67.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $92.17 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $64.64 and a 1 year high of $93.22. The company has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $87.18 and a 200-day moving average of $82.81.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The business had revenue of $314.36 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.58 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.28 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 12.58%.

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.