Legal & General Group Plc Makes New $13.08 Million Investment in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 144,977 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $13,077,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in ABCB. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 9.5% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 29,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,687,000 after buying an additional 2,546 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 4.5% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,181 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,256,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 36.7% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the bank’s stock worth $671,000 after acquiring an additional 3,129 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association bought a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $243,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 187,024 shares of the bank’s stock worth $10,767,000 after acquiring an additional 13,633 shares in the last quarter. 91.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $92.00 to $90.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stephens set a $88.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $98.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Ameris Bancorp from $96.00 to $92.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.67.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB opened at $84.43 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21 and a beta of 0.92. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $88.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $84.52. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $68.80 and a 1 year high of $93.22.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by ($0.06). Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm had revenue of $317.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.78 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.59 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.47%.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.