Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Stock

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $42.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price indicates a potential upside of 1.70% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. Zacks Research raised Merchants Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 price objective (down from $40.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $41.00.

Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MBIN traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $41.30. 69,898 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 145,398. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. Merchants Bancorp has a 1 year low of $27.25 and a 1 year high of $43.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $34.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.06.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $193.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.80 million. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 13.35%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $390,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 10.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 567,980 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,783,000 after buying an additional 55,038 shares during the period. Ballast Asset Management LP bought a new stake in Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,529,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 4.9% during the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 236,425 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,819,000 after acquiring an additional 10,998 shares during the last quarter. 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.