Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) Hits New 52-Week High – Still a Buy?

Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $16.14 and last traded at $16.0690, with a volume of 33479 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $15.90.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCHB has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on shares of Mechanics Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 price objective for the company. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 target price on shares of Mechanics Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Mechanics Bancorp from $16.00 to $15.50 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Mechanics Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Mechanics Bancorp to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, June 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Mechanics Bancorp has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.62.

Mechanics Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $3.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.62 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.84.

Mechanics Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Investors of record on Saturday, May 23rd were paid a $0.70 dividend. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.3%. This is a boost from Mechanics Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 22nd. Mechanics Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 373.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mechanics Bank Trust Department bought a new stake in Mechanics Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,082,000. Acuitas Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mechanics Bancorp during the third quarter valued at approximately $5,102,000. Stieven Capital Advisors L.P. bought a new position in Mechanics Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,743,000. Maltese Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mechanics Bancorp during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,498,000. Finally, Gator Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mechanics Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,236,000. 74.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Mechanics Bancorp Company Profile

HomeStreet, Inc operates as the bank holding company for HomeStreet Bank that provides commercial, mortgage, and consumer/retail banking services primarily in the Western United States. The company offers personal and business checking, savings accounts, interest-bearing negotiable order of withdrawal accounts, money market accounts, and time certificates of deposit; credit cards; insurance; and treasury management products and services. Its loan products include commercial business and agriculture loans, single family residential mortgages, consumer loans, commercial loans secured by residential and commercial real estate, and construction loans for residential and commercial real estate development, as well as consumer installment loans and permanent loans on commercial real estate and single-family residences.