Moody National Bank Trust Division Purchases Shares of 9,921 Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB)

Moody National Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 9,921 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $480,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,467,880 shares of the bank’s stock worth $396,171,000 after acquiring an additional 33,386 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Ameris Bancorp by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,193,610 shares of the bank’s stock worth $222,473,000 after purchasing an additional 205,750 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,547,134 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $97,784,000 after purchasing an additional 90,694 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 2,514,293 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $133,383,000 after buying an additional 201,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Ameris Bancorp by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 845,390 shares of the bank’s stock worth $44,848,000 after buying an additional 283,138 shares during the period. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameris Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ABCB traded up $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $48.16. 255,739 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,122. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $48.51. Ameris Bancorp has a 12 month low of $32.74 and a 12 month high of $53.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.06.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 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 firm had revenue of $267.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $258.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.86 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ABCB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on 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, StockNews.com raised Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $52.00.

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.