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

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of 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. Approximately 4.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 166,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 5.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MBIN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Merchants Bancorp from $52.50 to $56.50 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $53.00 price target (up from $50.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ MBIN traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $43.19. The stock had a trading volume of 95,378 shares, compared to its average volume of 180,733. Merchants Bancorp has a 52-week low of $34.16 and a 52-week high of $53.27. The company has a market cap of $1.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.84 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $38.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.14. 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) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 3rd. The company reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.58. Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 22.86% and a net margin of 22.08%. Equities analysts forecast that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott A. Evans sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now owns 27,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,189,818.60. This represents a 47.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 39.70% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MBIN. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. CWM LLC increased its position in Merchants Bancorp by 209.4% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 869 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $79,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter worth $82,000. Finally, Matrix Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 730.8% during the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 2,642 shares of the company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 2,324 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

About Merchants Bancorp

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.