Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Sells 18,562 Shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P cut its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 6.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 292,379 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 18,562 shares during the quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.42% of Ameris Bancorp worth $18,242,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,374,719 shares of the bank’s stock worth $220,263,000 after acquiring an additional 45,240 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 0.8% during the second quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,533,580 shares of the bank’s stock worth $127,566,000 after purchasing an additional 19,287 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,263,487 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $78,829,000 after purchasing an additional 55,473 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 907,140 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $56,596,000 after buying an additional 79,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameris Bancorp by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 863,294 shares of the bank’s stock worth $53,861,000 after buying an additional 12,054 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:ABCB opened at $71.37 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $41.00 and a 12-month high of $74.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.87 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $64.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.77. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $1.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.13. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.18% and a net margin of 20.08%. The business had revenue of $424.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $290.60 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Activity at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director Robert Dale Ezzell sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.91, for a total value of $559,280.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,444 shares in the company, valued at $1,918,610.04. The trade was a 22.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Raymond James upgraded Ameris Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $67.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Ameris Bancorp from $73.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameris Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.67.

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.