Short Interest in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Expands By 20.0%

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 826,000 shares, an increase of 20.0% from the January 15th total of 688,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 166,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days. Currently, 4.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Merchants Bancorp stock traded down $0.54 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $42.82. 91,372 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 172,874. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $38.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.17. Merchants Bancorp has a 1 year low of $34.16 and a 1 year high of $53.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.40, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.15.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.58. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 22.08%. On average, analysts anticipate that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on 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 restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, January 30th.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 owns 27,606 shares in the company, valued at $1,189,818.60. This trade represents a 47.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 39.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Merchants Bancorp

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Royce & Associates LP boosted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 143.1% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 490,189 shares of the company's stock worth $22,039,000 after buying an additional 288,553 shares during the last quarter. Elser Financial Planning Inc acquired a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth about $994,207,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 448,525 shares of the company's stock worth $20,205,000 after buying an additional 20,214 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 566,520 shares of the company's stock worth $25,476,000 after buying an additional 16,666 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 351.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,312 shares of the company's stock worth $1,273,000 after buying an additional 22,046 shares during the last quarter. 24.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.