Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Short Interest Up 20.0% in January

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 826,000 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the January 15th total of 688,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 166,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.0 days. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $52.50 to $56.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 target price (up from $50.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 1.2 %

NASDAQ:MBIN traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $43.19. 95,378 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 180,733. Merchants Bancorp has a 12-month low of $34.16 and a 12-month high of $53.27. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $38.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $41.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 1.15.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 year.

Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were issued a $0.09 dividend. This represents a $0.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is 5.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Merchants Bancorp

In related news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 39.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 3.7% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $573,000 after buying an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 47,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,747,000 after acquiring an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inceptionr LLC raised its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Inceptionr LLC now owns 5,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 687 shares in the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.