Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) Hits New 52-Week High at $27.00

Shares of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:AMTB) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $27.00 and last traded at $26.82, with a volume of 24906 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $26.31.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AMTB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Janney Montgomery Scott initiated coverage on Amerant Bancorp in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 target price for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Amerant Bancorp from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.60.

Amerant Bancorp Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.75 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.52. The firm has a market cap of $818.29 million, a PE ratio of 35.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.96.

Amerant Bancorp (NASDAQ:AMTB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by ($0.07). Amerant Bancorp had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 7.65%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Amerant Bancorp Inc. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Amerant Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th will be paid a $0.09 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $0.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Amerant Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.94%.

Insider Activity at Amerant Bancorp

In related news, COO Carlos Iafigliola sold 10,579 shares of Amerant Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.62, for a total value of $239,296.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,961 shares in the company, valued at approximately $225,317.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Armando Fleitas sold 6,240 shares of Amerant Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.59, for a total value of $140,961.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $126,368.46. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Carlos Iafigliola sold 10,579 shares of Amerant Bancorp stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.62, for a total value of $239,296.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 9,961 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $225,317.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 13.49% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Amerant Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,113,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,498,000 after buying an additional 267,466 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,619,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,710,000 after buying an additional 10,835 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 294,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,132,000 after buying an additional 31,391 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Amerant Bancorp by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 207,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,103,000 after buying an additional 2,649 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new stake in Amerant Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $3,563,000. 42.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amerant Bancorp Company Profile

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.