On Friday, Stephens research firm reiterated its Overweight rating on Amerant Bancorp Inc (NYSE:AMTB) with a steady price target of $29.00. The affirmation came after Amerant Bancorp announced the completion of a significant loan portfolio sale on December 27, 2024.
The portfolio, valued at $71.4 million, included 323 business-purpose, investment property, residential mortgage loans. The sale resulted in a loss of approximately $12.6 million, which includes transaction costs and equates to a 17.5% loss on the value of the loans sold.
The loans were part of an uncommitted loan program and had a yield of 7.13%. Amerant Bancorp’s management plans to provide more details on this transaction during the upcoming earnings call. In a positive note, the bank disclosed that its core loan growth for the fourth quarter, excluding the Houston sale, was approximately $310 million. This figure surpasses Stephens’ forecast of around $265 million.
Additionally, Amerant Bancorp has made progress in reducing its Criticized loans, which include Special Mention and Classified loans. Since the last update on November 8, 2024, the bank has reduced these loans by an additional $26.2 million, or 16.9%. This reduction brings the total quarterly decrease in Criticized loans to $61.8 million, or 32.4%. The Stephens analyst noted these developments as encouraging signs for the bank’s financial health and stability.
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