Amerant Bancorp slides after elevated credit costs weigh on Q1 profit

Shares of regional lender Amerant Bancorp AMTB.N plunge as much as 16.8%; last down 11.7% at $17.2

AMTB late Wednesday reported Q1 profit below Wall Street expectations on elevated credit costs, after beating estimates in the last two quarters

Bank has now missed profit expectations twice in the last four quarters, per LSEG data

Raymond James downgrades AMTB shares to "market perform" from "outperform"; says it is stepping to the sideline for now given persistent credit issues at the bank

Piper Sandler says "more important than the miss itself are the frustrations that investors will likely feel after a mid-quarter message of improving credit trends"

Says another quarter of elevated credit costs "likely impairs company credibility for investors"

3 of 5 brokerages rate the stock "buy" or higher and 2 "hold"; median PT $25 - data compiled by LSEG

As of last close, AMTB down 13% YTD