Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts give Merchants Bancorp a consensus "Moderate Buy" rating (2 holds, 2 buys, 1 strong buy) with an average 12‑month target price of $43.25.
• The company reported a quarterly EPS beat ($1.28 vs. $0.94 expected) and $185.3M in revenue, and its board authorized a $100.0 million share repurchase program (up to 6.2% of shares).
• Insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares at about $46.06 (a 33.6% reduction in his holding), though company insiders collectively still own 44.90% of the stock.

Shares of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $43.25.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MBIN. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Merchants Bancorp from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merchants Bancorp

In related news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.06, for a total value of $253,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,881 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $501,178.86. This trade represents a 33.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 44.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of 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% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,201 shares of the company's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,153 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 16.7% in the second quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 6,890 shares of the company's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 984 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Numerai GP LLC purchased a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $254,000. 24.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ MBIN opened at $48.96 on Friday. Merchants Bancorp has a 12 month low of $27.25 and a 12 month high of $50.26. The stock has a market cap of $2.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95 and a beta of 1.15. The company's 50 day moving average is $44.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.34. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 13.17%. The company had revenue of $185.29 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $170.80 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp declared that its board has authorized 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 13th were issued a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a boost from Merchants Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 13th. Merchants Bancorp's payout ratio is 11.64%.

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.

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