Peregrine Capital Management LLC Sells 6,706 Shares of Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

Peregrine Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 8.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 69,287 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,706 shares during the period. Peregrine Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $5,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,258,436 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $92,256,000 after acquiring an additional 39,478 shares in the last quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 1,981,061 shares of the bank’s stock worth $145,232,000 after purchasing an additional 91,043 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,667,000. Congress Asset Management Co. increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 996,786 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,031,000 after purchasing an additional 27,106 shares during the period. Finally, Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH increased its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH now owns 454,169 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $33,731,000 after purchasing an additional 59,606 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Trading Up 1.6%

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $91.66 on Thursday. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $64.64 and a 12-month high of $92.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $85.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 23rd. The bank reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $314.36 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $309.58 million. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 21.46% and a return on equity of 9.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.28 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ABCB has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $85.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stephens increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.17.

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.