Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) Stock

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $26.00 to $31.00 in a report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “market perform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 4.44% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AMTB. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Amerant Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zacks Research raised Amerant Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Amerant Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.33.

Amerant Bancorp Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE AMTB traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $29.68. 132,449 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 299,330. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.18. Amerant Bancorp has a one year low of $15.62 and a one year high of $30.60. The company has a market capitalization of $1.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.87.

Amerant Bancorp (NYSE:AMTB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.39 by $0.14. Amerant Bancorp had a net margin of 8.83% and a return on equity of 8.26%. On average, analysts forecast that Amerant Bancorp will post 2.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Amerant Bancorp

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. purchased a new position in Amerant Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,621,000. North Reef Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Amerant Bancorp during the first quarter worth $25,577,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 756.2% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 437,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,437,000 after purchasing an additional 386,710 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,153,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Amerant Bancorp by 9.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,424,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,311,000 after buying an additional 206,874 shares in the last quarter. 42.11% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.