Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Short Interest Update

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,090,000 shares, a growth of 9.1% from the May 31st total of 999,500 shares. Approximately 1.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 291,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of ABCB opened at $49.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $33.21 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.58.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.06. Ameris Bancorp had a net margin of 18.06% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $258.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameris Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, June 30th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 28th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.20%. Ameris Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $531,000. Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 18,222 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 28.5% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 10,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 2,252 shares during the last quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth $301,000. Finally, Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Ameris Bancorp during the third quarter worth $333,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ABCB shares. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

About Ameris Bancorp

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.