Amerant Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:AMTB – Get Rating) was the target of a sharp drop in short interest during October. As of October 31, there was short interest totaling 498,700 shares, a decrease of 25.3% from the total of 667,400 shares as of October 15. Based on an average daily trading volume of 73,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Amerant Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of Amerant Bancorp opened at $29.92 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.75 and a beta of 1.06. Amerant Bancorp has a 12-month low of $24.41 and a 12-month high of $36.72. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $27.16 and a 200-day moving average price of $27.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt ratio of 1.63.

Amerant Bancorp announces dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 30. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 15 will receive a dividend of $0.09. This represents an annualized dividend of $0.36 and a yield of 1.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 14. Amerant Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 1.95%.

Insiders place their bets

In other Amerant Bancorp news, Director A. Gustavo J. Vollmer sold 49,249 shares of the company in a trade dated Friday, Nov. 4. The stock was sold at an average price of $29.59, for a total value of $1,457,277.91. Following completion of the transaction, the administrator now owns 586,126 shares of the company, valued at approximately $17,343,468.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available via this link. Separately, director A. Gustavo J. Vollmer sold 49,249 shares of the company in a transaction dated Friday, November 4. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.59, for a total transaction of $1,457,277.91. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 586,126 shares of the company, valued at approximately $17,343,468.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available on the SEC’s website. Additionally, director A. Gustavo J. Vollmer sold 29,500 shares of the company in a transaction dated Monday, October 31. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.07, for a total transaction of $887,065.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 718,327 shares of the company, valued at approximately $21,600,092.89. The disclosure of this sale can be found here. In the past 90 days, insiders have sold 107,764 shares of the company valued at $3,216,648. 14.14% of the shares are held by insiders.

Institutional entries and exits

Several institutional investors have recently increased or reduced their stake in AMTB. Navellier & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp in Q1 worth approximately $670,000. Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in Amerant Bancorp by 28.4% in the first quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 7,522 shares of the company worth $238,000 after purchasing 1,666 additional shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. bought a new position in Amerant Bancorp during Q1 worth approximately $122,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Amerant Bancorp by 51.3% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 15,156 shares of the company valued at $403,000 after purchasing an additional 5,140 shares during the period. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its position in Amerant Bancorp by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. The New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 19,745 shares of the company valued at $624,000 after purchasing an additional 2,571 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors hold 39.43% of the company’s shares.

Analysts set new price targets

A number of research analysts have recently released AMTB stock reports. Piper Sandler lowered her price target on Amerant Bancorp to $33.00 in a Friday, July 22 research note. TheStreet downgraded Amerant Bancorp from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a Tuesday, September 6 research note. Finally, Stephens raised his price target on Amerant Bancorp from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a Monday, October 24 research note.

Amerant Bancorp Company Profile

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Amerant Bancorp Inc operates as a bank holding company for Amerant Bank, NA which provides personal and business banking products and services in the United States and abroad. The company offers checking, savings and money market accounts; and certificates of deposit. It also offers variable and fixed rate commercial real estate loans; loans secured by owner-occupied properties; loans to domestic and foreign individuals mainly secured by personal residence; working capital loans, asset-based loans, national credit share participations, purchased receivables and small business administration loans; loans to financial institutions and acceptances; and consumer loans and overdrafts, such as auto, personal, or secured by cash or securities and revolving credit card contracts.

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