North Reef Capital Management LP Acquires New Shares in Amerant Bancorp Inc. $AMTB

Key Points

• North Reef Capital Management disclosed a new position in Amerant Bancorp, buying 1,160,488 shares worth about $25.6 million. The stake represented about 2.95% of Amerant and was one of the fund’s larger holdings.
• Amerant Bancorp reported Q2 EPS of $0.53, easily beating the $0.41 consensus estimate, while revenue of $98.81 million also came in slightly ahead of forecasts. Zacks Research responded by upgrading the stock from hold to strong-buy.
• The bank declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, payable on August 28, for an annualized yield of about 1.3%. The dividend signals ongoing shareholder returns, though it remains modest.

North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:AMTB - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,160,488 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,577,000. Amerant Bancorp comprises about 0.9% of North Reef Capital Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. North Reef Capital Management LP owned 2.95% of Amerant Bancorp as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $44,621,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 756.2% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 437,847 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,437,000 after acquiring an additional 386,710 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new position in Amerant Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $4,153,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Amerant Bancorp by 9.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,424,944 shares of the company's stock worth $47,311,000 after acquiring an additional 206,874 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Essex Investment Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,006,000. 42.11% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Amerant Bancorp News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Amerant Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Amerant Bancorp from hold to strong-buy, which can support sentiment by signaling improving analyst confidence in the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.53 per share, beating Wall Street expectations and topping the consensus estimate of $0.41; revenue also came in slightly ahead of forecasts at $98.81 million. Amerant Bancorp Inc. (AMTB) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Amerant Bancorp also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile, though the payout is modest and unlikely to be the main stock driver. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage noted that investors were focusing on key operating metrics from the earnings release, but the main takeaway remains the earnings beat. Amerant Bancorp (AMTB) Reports Q2 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Amerant Bancorp Price Performance

NYSE:AMTB opened at $28.43 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $24.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.83. Amerant Bancorp Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.62 and a 12-month high of $28.63.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $98.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $98.64 million. Amerant Bancorp had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 8.26%. Research analysts expect that Amerant Bancorp Inc. will post 1.79 EPS for the current year.

Amerant Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Amerant Bancorp's payout ratio is presently 25.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on AMTB shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded Amerant Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Amerant Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.67.

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.

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