Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Receives $43.25 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

MBIN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Zacks Research raised shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ:MBIN opened at $41.53 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 1.16 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $39.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $35.15. Merchants Bancorp has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $48.50.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $185.29 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.80 million. Equities analysts forecast that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. 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. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is 10.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merchants Bancorp news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value of $253,330.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $501,178.86. This represents a 33.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 34.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,609,000 after buying an additional 210,151 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 1,509.5% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 175,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,589,000 after acquiring an additional 164,834 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 458.7% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after acquiring an additional 115,881 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 17.4% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 681,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,539,000 after acquiring an additional 101,139 shares during the period. Finally, Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,984,000. 24.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.