North Reef Capital Management LP Takes Position in Amerant Bancorp Inc. $AMTB

North Reef Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NYSE:AMTB) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,160,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,577,000. Amerant Bancorp accounts for about 0.9% of North Reef Capital Management LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest position.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in Amerant Bancorp by 83.0% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 22,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after purchasing an additional 10,249 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 21,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 963 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 91,965 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,898,000 after buying an additional 5,434 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 35,819 shares of the company’s stock valued at $653,000 after buying an additional 617 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth $275,000. 42.11% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Amerant Bancorp Stock Performance

NYSE:AMTB opened at $28.43 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $22.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Amerant Bancorp Inc. has a twelve month low of $15.62 and a twelve month high of $28.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45 and a beta of 0.88.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.14. Amerant Bancorp had a return on equity of 8.26% and a net margin of 8.83%.The business had revenue of $98.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $98.64 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Amerant Bancorp Inc. will post 1.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Amerant Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Amerant Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 25.90%.

Amerant Bancorp News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Amerant Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Amerant Bancorp from hold to strong-buy, which can support sentiment by signaling improving analyst confidence in the stock. Zacks.com
• Positive Sentiment: The company reported Q2 earnings of $0.53 per share, beating Wall Street expectations and topping the consensus estimate of $0.41; revenue also came in slightly ahead of forecasts at $98.81 million. Amerant Bancorp Inc. (AMTB) Tops Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Amerant Bancorp also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.09 per share, reinforcing its shareholder-return profile, though the payout is modest and unlikely to be the main stock driver. Dividend announcement
• Neutral Sentiment: Additional coverage noted that investors were focusing on key operating metrics from the earnings release, but the main takeaway remains the earnings beat. Amerant Bancorp (AMTB) Reports Q2 Earnings: What Key Metrics Have to Say

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Amerant Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings downgraded Amerant Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Amerant Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Amerant Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.67.

About Amerant Bancorp

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.