Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Amerant Bancorp shares hit a new 52-week high of $31.00, trading around $30.50 after a prior close of $30.07.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.65 versus the $0.57 consensus and revenue of $108.8 million versus estimates of $103.35 million.
• Analyst views are mixed, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $30.25 price target; Amerant also declared a $0.09 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 1.2% annual yield.

Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:AMTB - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $31.00 and last traded at $30.4960, with a volume of 27,407 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AMTB. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $35.00 target price (up from $33.50) on shares of Amerant Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 26th. Stephens lowered shares of Amerant Bancorp from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Amerant Bancorp in a research note on Monday. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Amerant Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $30.25.

Amerant Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a 50 day moving average of $29.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $25.25. The firm has a market cap of $1.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.65 and a beta of 0.80.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The company reported $0.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.57 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $108.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.35 million. Amerant Bancorp had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 9.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that Amerant Bancorp Inc. will post 2.24 EPS for the current year.

Amerant Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 27th. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Amerant Bancorp's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.30%.

Institutional Trading of Amerant Bancorp

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Amerant Bancorp by 10.6% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,388,926 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,611,000 after buying an additional 133,050 shares during the period. North Reef Capital Management LP bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,577,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 25.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 198,326 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,371,000 after purchasing an additional 39,971 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 3.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 164,730 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,631,000 after buying an additional 5,492 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 12.6% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 146,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,225,000 after buying an additional 16,343 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 for Amerant Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. Through its banking subsidiary, the company provides financial products and services to consumers, businesses and institutions, with a primary focus on markets in Florida and Texas.

Amerant Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgages, home equity products, credit cards and treasury management services. It also provides wealth management and investment services, along with digital banking tools that allow customers to manage accounts, transfer funds and make payments online and through mobile devices.

The company traces its origins to 1970, when it was established as Commercebank.

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