Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) had its price objective increased by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $51.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 18.47% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $43.25.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ MBIN opened at $43.05 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $39.29 and its 200 day moving average is $34.95. Merchants Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $27.25 and a fifty-two week high of $48.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.10. The company has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a PE ratio of 11.39 and a beta of 1.25.

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

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

Insider Transactions at Merchants Bancorp

In related news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 10,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,178.86. The trade was a 33.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 34.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MBIN. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 667 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 200.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 57,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,926,000 after buying an additional 38,262 shares during the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $254,000. Man Group plc purchased a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth $1,902,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 4,202 shares during the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.