Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Price Target Raised to $51.00

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) had its price target increased by Morgan Stanley from $42.00 to $51.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Merchants Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.25.

Merchants Bancorp Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ MBIN opened at $42.49 on Monday. Merchants Bancorp has a 1-year low of $27.25 and a 1-year high of $48.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.00.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.80 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 13th will be paid a $0.11 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 13th. This is a positive change from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.58%.

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

Insider Activity

In other Merchants Bancorp news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merchants Bancorp

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the third quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 110.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,153 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased 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 acquiring an additional 817 shares during the period. Finally, Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey increased its position in Merchants Bancorp by 51.9% during the second quarter. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey now owns 5,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 2,004 shares during the period. 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.