Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Sets New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) hit a new 52-week low during 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.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on MBIN. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Merchants Bancorp from $52.50 to $56.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Insider Activity at Merchants Bancorp

In related news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.10, for a total value of $1,077,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,189,818.60. This represents a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 39.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $79,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $82,000. Matrix Trust Co boosted its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 730.8% in the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 118.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 3,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,933 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

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

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

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

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

About Merchants Bancorp

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.