Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) Sets New 1-Year High After Earnings Beat

Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:AMTB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as high as $28.17 and last traded at $27.0370, with a volume of 157099 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $25.85.

The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.14. Amerant Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 8.83%.The firm had revenue of $98.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $98.64 million.

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 issued a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Amerant Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 25.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AMTB. Zacks Research raised shares of Amerant Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amerant Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Amerant Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.67.

Institutional Trading of Amerant Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 110.8% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 22,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $499,000 after buying an additional 11,900 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 149.2% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,524 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 5,492 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 45.3% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 55,210 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 17,201 shares during the period. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Amerant Bancorp in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,577,000. 42.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amerant Bancorp Trading Up 6.7%

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $22.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.09 billion, a PE ratio of 19.43 and a beta of 0.88.

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.