Principal Financial Group Inc. Makes New $1.21 Million Investment in Amerant Bancorp Inc. $AMTB

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group acquired 55,095 Amerant Bancorp shares worth approximately $1.21 million, representing about 0.14% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 42.11% of AMTB.
• Amerant Bancorp reported quarterly earnings of $0.53 per share, exceeding analysts’ $0.39 estimate. Analysts expect full-year EPS of $2.22.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, or $0.36 annually, yielding approximately 1.2%; analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with a $23.67 average price target.

Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:AMTB - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 55,095 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,214,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Amerant Bancorp at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AMTB. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in Amerant Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $583,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Amerant Bancorp by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 61,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,570 shares during the period. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp increased its position in Amerant Bancorp by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp now owns 326,408 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,368,000 after purchasing an additional 14,511 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 159,238 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,107,000 after purchasing an additional 8,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VARCOV Co. bought a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $321,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 42.11% of the company's stock.

Amerant Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of Amerant Bancorp stock opened at $29.52 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.16 billion, a PE ratio of 21.24 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.11. Amerant Bancorp Inc. has a one year low of $15.62 and a one year high of $30.60. 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 results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.14. 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 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal 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 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Amerant Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Amerant Bancorp from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Amerant Bancorp has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $23.67.

Amerant Bancorp Company Profile

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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