Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $49.13, but opened at $55.99. Merchants Bancorp shares last traded at $54.54, with a volume of 15,392 shares traded.

The company reported $2.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.67. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 15.29%. The business had revenue of $224.94 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $182.95 million.

Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 15th were paid a $0.11 dividend. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 15th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 8.84%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on MBIN shares. Raymond James Financial cut shares of Merchants Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Zacks Research lowered shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $68.00 price target (up from $63.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Merchants Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.50.

Institutional Trading of Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $205,260,000. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $13,687,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $11,719,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter worth $6,120,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter worth $6,057,000. 24.57% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.32, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.16 and a 200-day moving average of $47.33. The company has a market capitalization of $2.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.21.

About Merchants Bancorp

Merchants Bancorp is a diversified financial holding company headquartered in Carmel, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, Merchants Bank of Indiana, the company provides banking, mortgage banking and healthcare finance services to businesses, institutions and other clients.

The company’s mortgage banking operations offer financing and related services for multifamily and healthcare properties, including loans for apartment communities, senior housing and other specialized real estate.