Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.02 EPS

Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.02, Zacks reports. Mechanics Bancorp had a net margin of 21.71% and a return on equity of 10.61%.

Mechanics Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MCHB traded up $0.43 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.27. 322,172 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 479,505. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $15.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $15.06. Mechanics Bancorp has a 52-week low of $12.46 and a 52-week high of $16.68. The company has a market cap of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76 and a beta of 1.41.

Mechanics Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Saturday, May 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Mechanics Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.40. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 17.2%. Mechanics Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 373.33%.

Institutional Trading of Mechanics Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCHB. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Mechanics Bancorp by 167.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,368,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,024,000 after acquiring an additional 856,476 shares during the period. GW&K Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Mechanics Bancorp by 36.2% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 1,233,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,043,000 after purchasing an additional 327,908 shares in the last quarter. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in Mechanics Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $14,043,000. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new position in Mechanics Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $13,128,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Mechanics Bancorp by 96.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 865,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,664,000 after purchasing an additional 423,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.71% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCHB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $17.00 price objective on shares of Mechanics Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mechanics Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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. Raymond James Financial started coverage on shares of Mechanics Bancorp in a report on Thursday, May 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Mechanics Bancorp in a research report on Friday, April 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $17.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Mechanics Bancorp presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $16.62.

About Mechanics Bancorp

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.