Ameris Bancorp $ABCB Shares Sold by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 18.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 29,030 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 6,419 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $1,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 36.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,875,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,955,000 after purchasing an additional 498,604 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $56,202,000. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% during the second quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 943,041 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $61,015,000 after acquiring an additional 9,548 shares during the period. FJ Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 311.3% during the first quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 785,288 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $45,209,000 after acquiring an additional 594,340 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 2.9% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 731,836 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $42,132,000 after acquiring an additional 20,355 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock opened at $73.29 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Ameris Bancorp has a one year low of $48.27 and a one year high of $76.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.03 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07 and a beta of 0.94. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $73.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.82.

Ameris Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, October 20th that permits the company to buyback $200.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the bank to purchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, DA Davidson raised shares of Ameris Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.14.

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.