Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB – Get Rating) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,630,000 shares, a drop of 7.9% from the February 13th total of 1,770,000 shares. Currently, 2.5% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 327,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ABCB opened at $36.74 on Wednesday. Ameris Bancorp has a 52-week low of $36.04 and a 52-week high of $54.24. The company has a market cap of $2.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.81 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $48.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.09.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 27th. The bank reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.34 by ($0.17). The firm had revenue of $272.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $281.13 million. Ameris Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.63% and a net margin of 29.41%. Ameris Bancorp’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 5.17 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ameris Bancorp

In related news, Director William I. Jr. Bowen purchased 670 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $41.20 per share, for a total transaction of $27,604.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 22,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $942,326.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 5.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of ABCB. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 32.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 331,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,557,000 after acquiring an additional 80,551 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 21.3% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,411 shares of the bank’s stock worth $896,000 after buying an additional 3,580 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 18.2% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 13,753 shares of the bank’s stock worth $604,000 after buying an additional 2,118 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 2.0% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 27,723 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 554 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its position in Ameris Bancorp by 53.3% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 35,341 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,551,000 after acquiring an additional 12,280 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $63.00 to $60.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $62.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 5th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $60.00 to $52.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $55.50.

Ameris Bancorp Company Profile

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Ameris Bancorp is a bank holding company, which through the subsidiary, Ameris Bank, engages in the provision of banking services to its retail and commercial customers. It operates through the following business segments: Banking, Retail Mortgage, Warehouse Lending, the SBA and Premium Finance. The Banking segment offers full service financial services to include commercial loans, consumer loans and deposit accounts.