Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) Shares Gap Down to $20.84

Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:AMTB)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $20.84, but opened at $19.32. Amerant Bancorp shares last traded at $19.76, with a volume of 221,237 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on AMTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on shares of Amerant Bancorp from $26.00 to $24.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Amerant Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Friday, July 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Amerant Bancorp currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.20.

Amerant Bancorp Trading Down 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market cap of $683.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65 and a beta of 1.00. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $21.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.06.

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $98.78 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.19 million. Amerant Bancorp had a net margin of 3.15% and a return on equity of 7.78%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.24 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Amerant Bancorp Inc. will post 1.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Amerant Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.09 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Amerant Bancorp’s payout ratio is 52.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amerant Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AMTB. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 30.1% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after acquiring an additional 1,197 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp in the second quarter worth $199,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp in the second quarter worth $250,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in Amerant Bancorp by 23.9% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 11,998 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 2,316 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in Amerant Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $281,000. 42.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Amerant Bancorp

Amerant Bancorp Inc operates as the bank holding company for Amerant Bank, N.A. that provides banking products and services to individuals and businesses in the United States and internationally. It offers checking, savings, business, and money market accounts; cash management services; and certificates of deposits.