Short Interest in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Rises By 27.1%

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 2,582,239 shares, an increase of 27.1% from the February 26th total of 2,032,364 shares. Currently, 8.6% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 232,980 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 11.1 days.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MBIN traded up $0.41 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 215,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,906. The business’s fifty day moving average is $42.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.31. The stock has a market cap of $1.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.35 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. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $185.29 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.80 million. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 13.17% and a net margin of 16.02%. Analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. 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 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.64%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MBIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Insider Transactions at Merchants Bancorp

In other Merchants Bancorp news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 10,881 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,178.86. The trade was a 33.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBIN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 110.0% in the 2nd 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. boosted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 44.6% during the second quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. now owns 2,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 16.7% during the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

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.