Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) Stock Price Up 4.1% – Still a Buy?

Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:AMTB)’s share price was up 4.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $20.78 and last traded at $20.5090. Approximately 403,306 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 12% from the average daily volume of 359,153 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on AMTB. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Amerant Bancorp from $26.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Amerant Bancorp from $22.00 to $20.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $21.00 price target on Amerant Bancorp and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Amerant Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.75.

Amerant Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $18.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $846.32 million, a PE ratio of -35.98 and a beta of 1.03.

Amerant Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Amerant Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amerant Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,621,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 756.2% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 437,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,437,000 after purchasing an additional 386,710 shares during the period. CSM Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,898,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 171.5% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 222,940 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,296,000 after purchasing an additional 140,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JCSD Capital LLC purchased a new position in Amerant Bancorp during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,466,000. 42.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Amerant Bancorp

Amerant Bancorp is the bank holding company for Amerant Bank, a full‐service community bank headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida. Through its banking subsidiary, Amerant Bank, the company offers a broad range of commercial and consumer banking solutions designed to serve both individual customers and small‐ to medium‐sized businesses. Its core activities include deposit gathering, lending, and cash management services.

The firm’s product lineup encompasses traditional checking and savings accounts, mortgage and commercial real estate loans, construction financing, and equipment lending.