Janney downgrades Amerant Bancorp to Neutral on credit losses

Janney Montgomery Scott downgraded Amerant Bancorp to Neutral from Buy with a $25 fair value estimate. The bank’s Q2 results were meaningfully lower than estimates due to a higher than expected provision for credit losses, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that while there were some positives in the quarter, including sequential net interest margin improvement, solid loan growth and higher fee income, investors “will only have eyes for” the credit weakness despite Amerant’s “best efforts to convince that these are one-offs.” Janney thinks the shares will lag peers “that have fewer question marks.”