Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. Buys Shares of 273,747 Merchants Bancorp $MBIN

Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 273,747 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,687,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $205,260,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter valued at about $11,719,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 135.6% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,609,000 after acquiring an additional 210,151 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 1,509.5% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 175,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,589,000 after acquiring an additional 164,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter worth about $6,120,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MBIN. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $64.00 price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $49.00 price objective (up from $46.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Merchants Bancorp has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Merchants Bancorp news, Director Julia L. Kaercher sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.20, for a total transaction of $496,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 727,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,136,085.60. The trade was a 1.22% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 44.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $53.50 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32. The company has a market capitalization of $2.46 billion, a PE ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 1.14. Merchants Bancorp has a 12 month low of $30.37 and a 12 month high of $56.87. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $51.25 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.58.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.26. The company had revenue of $182.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $179.00 million. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 15.29% and a net margin of 19.80%. Analysts expect that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be given a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 8.84%.

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.