Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Short Interest Down 16.5% in March

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 629,600 shares, a decrease of 16.5% from the March 15th total of 754,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 168,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 3.1% of the company's stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MBIN shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on Merchants Bancorp from $53.00 to $45.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Merchants Bancorp from $52.50 to $56.50 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBIN traded down $0.48 during trading on Friday, hitting $32.44. The stock had a trading volume of 76,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 191,007. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $36.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.14 and a beta of 1.15. Merchants Bancorp has a 12-month low of $30.73 and a 12-month high of $53.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share (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, equities research analysts expect that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from Merchants Bancorp's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.23%. Merchants Bancorp's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.34%.

Insider Activity at Merchants Bancorp

In other news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. 34.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at $79,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in Merchants Bancorp in the fourth quarter valued at $82,000. Matrix Trust Co raised its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 730.8% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,642 shares of the company's stock worth $96,000 after acquiring an additional 2,324 shares during the period. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 1,933 shares in the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.