Amerant Bancorp upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James

Raymond James upgraded Amerant Bancorp (AMTB) to Outperform from Market Perform with a $21 price target The company reported another “credit-driven” earnings miss in Q3, but management will either fix the credit issues in near-term and right-size its expense base or will unlock shareholder value through a sale of the franchise, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm believes “scarcity value” for the unit has increased, creating a host of potential buyers in the event it were to be sold.