Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s Why

Shares of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $48.90 and last traded at $49.02, with a volume of 27854 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.11.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Merchants Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

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 stock has a market capitalization of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $37.59.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 11.64%.

Merchants Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Merchants Bancorp

In related news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of Merchants Bancorp 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 approximately $501,178.86. The trade was a 33.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MBIN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 220,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,146,000 after purchasing an additional 2,101 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Merchants Bancorp by 4.4% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 10,741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 60.3% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 32,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,216,000 after acquiring an additional 12,361 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 3.8% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 21,677 shares of the company’s stock worth $717,000 after acquiring an additional 795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 41.5% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 38,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,277,000 after acquiring an additional 11,334 shares in the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.