Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.25.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MBIN shares. Zacks Research upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value of $253,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 10,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,178.86. This trade represents a 33.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merchants Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 4.4% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after buying an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after acquiring an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 40,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 44.6% in the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after acquiring an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $42.50 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $42.12 and a 200-day moving average of $36.24. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.25. Merchants Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.25 and a 1-year high of $48.50.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.34. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 16.02%.The company had revenue of $185.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.80 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. This is an increase from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 11.64%.

Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ: MBIN) is the bank holding company for Merchants Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company offers a range of banking services across western and central New York. Merchants Bancorp operates as a full‐service commercial bank, serving small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, families and individuals in its core markets.

The company’s primary activities include deposit taking, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management services.