First Eagle Investment Management LLC Lowers Stake in Ameris Bancorp $ABCB

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) by 0.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 181,558 shares of the bank’s stock after selling 1,225 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameris Bancorp were worth $11,747,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,875,194 shares of the bank’s stock worth $107,955,000 after acquiring an additional 498,604 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameris Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth $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 worth $61,015,000 after purchasing an additional 9,548 shares during the last quarter. 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 worth $45,209,000 after purchasing an additional 594,340 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 54.6% in the second quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 777,107 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $50,279,000 after purchasing an additional 274,417 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price (up from $73.00) on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. DA Davidson raised shares of Ameris Bancorp to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $84.00 target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.33.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

ABCB stock opened at $73.61 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 14.13 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $73.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.67. Ameris Bancorp has a 12-month low of $48.27 and a 12-month high of $76.58.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 13.84%.

Ameris Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, October 20th that allows the company to buyback $200.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the bank to purchase up to 4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ameris Bancorp 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.