Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $48.50 and last traded at $47.8650, with a volume of 28612 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $47.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MBIN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zacks Research upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $40.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.00.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.89 and its 200 day moving average is $34.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92 and a beta of 1.27.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.34. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.02% and a return on equity of 13.35%. The company had revenue of $168.05 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $170.80 million. On average, analysts predict that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Merchants Bancorp announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Martin A. Schroeter sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The stock was 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 $501,178.86. The trade was a 33.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 34.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBIN. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 45,818 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its position in Merchants Bancorp by 200.7% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 57,324 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after acquiring an additional 38,262 shares during the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC purchased a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $254,000. Man Group plc purchased a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,902,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 18,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 4,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

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.