Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Amerant Bancorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Amerant Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, March 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Amerant Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Amerant Bancorp from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Amerant Bancorp from $21.00 to $23.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Amerant Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.75.

Amerant Bancorp Stock Down 1.2%

AMTB stock opened at $21.53 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.92, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $866.05 million, a P/E ratio of 17.22 and a beta of 1.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $21.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $20.04. Amerant Bancorp has a 12 month low of $15.62 and a 12 month high of $23.55.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $230.71 million for the quarter. Amerant Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.78% and a net margin of 7.75%.

Amerant Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Friday, February 13th were issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. Amerant Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.80%.

Insider Transactions at Amerant Bancorp

In other news, Director Odilon Almeida acquired 4,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 27th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.99 per share, for a total transaction of $101,087.84. Following the purchase, the director owned 5,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,582.84. The trade was a 963.20% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amerant Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Guerra Advisors Inc bought a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. State of Wyoming bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $78,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 153.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,748 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,000 after buying an additional 2,874 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Amerant Bancorp by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 526 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Amerant Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $129,000. Institutional investors own 42.11% of the company’s stock.

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.