Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) Raised to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Amerant Bancorp from hold to strong-buy, adding to a mixed but generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with an average target price of $23.67.
• The company reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $0.53 EPS versus the $0.39 consensus estimate, while revenue came in roughly in line at $98.81 million.
• Amerant Bancorp shares were trading around $25.81, near their 52-week high of $26.66, and the stock is up 1.4% on the day cited in the report.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

AMTB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Amerant Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amerant Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.67.

Amerant Bancorp Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of AMTB stock opened at $25.81 on Wednesday. Amerant Bancorp has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $26.66. The stock has a market cap of $1.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.31 and a beta of 0.88. The firm's 50-day moving average is $24.08 and its 200-day moving average is $22.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.39 by $0.14. Amerant Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 8.83%.The firm had revenue of $98.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.64 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Amerant Bancorp will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 49,309 shares of the company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in Amerant Bancorp by 0.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 154,003 shares of the company's stock worth $2,807,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in Amerant Bancorp by 11.8% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,986 shares of the company's stock worth $91,000 after purchasing an additional 526 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Amerant Bancorp by 1.8% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 35,819 shares of the company's stock worth $653,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Amerant Bancorp by 4.6% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,989 shares of the company's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. 42.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amerant Bancorp

Amerant Bancorp is the bank holding company and parent of Amerant Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. Amerant Bank delivers a comprehensive range of deposit and lending products to both retail and commercial clients, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer mortgages, and business lines of credit. In addition, the company offers specialized services such as treasury management, international trade finance, foreign exchange, and asset-based lending to support the complex needs of corporate and high-net-worth customers.

Tracing its roots to the early 1980s, Amerant has grown through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic expansion.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.