Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) Short Interest Down 8.3% in May

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 999,500 shares, a drop of 8.3% from the May 15th total of 1,090,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 298,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ABCB shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameris Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a 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 for the company in a report on Monday, April 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Ameris Bancorp from $55.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $53.00 price target on shares of Ameris Bancorp in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameris Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $52.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ameris Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 144,844 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,561,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,344 shares of the bank’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 6.0% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 687,567 shares of the bank’s stock worth $26,396,000 after buying an additional 38,863 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Ameris Bancorp by 14.8% in the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 31,951 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after purchasing an additional 4,123 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in Ameris Bancorp by 0.9% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 215,466 shares of the bank’s stock worth $8,272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,966 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Ameris Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Ameris Bancorp stock opened at $46.79 on Monday. Ameris Bancorp has a 1 year low of $32.74 and a 1 year high of $53.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.38 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $47.91 and its 200 day moving average is $48.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

Ameris Bancorp (NASDAQ:ABCB) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 26th. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $267.27 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.05 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.86 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameris Bancorp will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.