Sapient Capital LLC Takes $3.41 Million Position in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 80,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,414,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MBIN. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 45.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the third quarter valued at about $199,000. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. bought a new position in Merchants Bancorp during the 3rd quarter valued at $227,000. Institutional investors own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MBIN. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.50 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Friday. Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $44.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Merchants Bancorp stock traded up $2.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $45.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 210,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 142,457. The company has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 1.17. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $38.71. Merchants Bancorp has a 12-month low of $21.50 and a 12-month high of $48.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 29th. The company reported $1.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.43. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 27.51% and a net margin of 23.55%. The company had revenue of $355.05 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $144.15 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Merchants Bancorp will post 6.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were given a dividend of $0.09 per share. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.08. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.65%.

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.