Short Interest in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Rises By 53.6%

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,239,078 shares, a growth of 53.6% from the January 29th total of 1,458,138 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 925,273 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 7.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Approximately 7.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 925,273 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 3.8%

Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $42.28 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50-day moving average is $38.93 and its 200-day moving average is $34.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.27. Merchants Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $48.50.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $185.29 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.80 million. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.35% and a net margin of 16.02%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

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%. This is a positive change from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 13th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.58%.

Merchants Bancorp declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MBIN shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merchants Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value of $253,330.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 10,881 shares in the company, valued at $501,178.86. The trade was a 33.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MBIN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 110.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares during the period. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 44.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 121.6% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

About Merchants Bancorp

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.