Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Price Target Raised to $42.00 at Morgan Stanley

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) had its target price upped by Morgan Stanley from $40.00 to $42.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 1st. UBS Group set a $42.00 price objective on Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $42.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down from $40.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $41.00.

Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $41.46 on Friday. Merchants Bancorp has a twelve month low of $27.25 and a twelve month high of $43.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $34.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $33.10. The firm has a market cap of $1.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.97 and a beta of 1.25.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $193.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.80 million. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 13.35%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 15th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.58%.

Merchants Bancorp announced that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 135.6% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 1,509.5% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 17.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 681,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,539,000 after purchasing an additional 101,139 shares during the last quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Merchants Bancorp during the third quarter valued at $2,984,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 10.2% during the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 862,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,415,000 after purchasing an additional 79,707 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.