Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $45.60 and last traded at $44.77, with a volume of 74534 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $42.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Merchants Bancorp from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 price target (up from $41.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.00.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $2.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $35.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $33.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

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

Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 10.58%.

Merchants Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Merchants Bancorp

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MBIN. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the third quarter valued at $57,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 110.0% during the second 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 last quarter. Ameritas Investment Partners Inc. increased its position in shares of 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, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 121.6% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 1,652 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.