Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) shares hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Thursday after Raymond James lowered their price target on the stock from $53.00 to $45.00. Raymond James currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Merchants Bancorp traded as low as $33.60 and last traded at $34.21, with a volume of 52640 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $37.17.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Merchants Bancorp from $52.50 to $56.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total transaction of $1,077,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,818.60. This trade represents a 47.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 39.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $395,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 24,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,000 after acquiring an additional 4,208 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 57,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,087,000 after acquiring an additional 6,778 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP acquired a new position in Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $379,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,282,000. 24.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 8.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $40.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $40.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.42 and a beta of 1.15.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.58. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 22.08%. Sell-side analysts expect that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 6.34%.

Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Merchants Bancorp operates as the diversified bank holding company in the United States. It operates through three segments: Multi-family Mortgage Banking, Mortgage Warehousing, and Banking. The Multi-family Mortgage Banking segment engages in the mortgage banking, which originates and services government sponsored mortgages, including bridge financing products to refinance, acquire, or reposition multi-family housing projects, and construction lending for multi-family and healthcare facilities.