Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) Shares Gap Up on Earnings Beat

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN)’s share price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $34.95, but opened at $37.31. Merchants Bancorp shares last traded at $39.06, with a volume of 105,134 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $193.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $170.80 million. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 17.73% and a return on equity of 15.20%.

Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 15th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 15th. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.20%.

Merchants Bancorp declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 28th that authorizes the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Trending Headlines about Merchants Bancorp

Here are the key news stories impacting Merchants Bancorp this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 results beat analyst estimates — Merchants reported EPS of $1.28 vs. the $0.94 consensus and revenue of $193.49M vs. $170.8M expected, with a net margin of 17.7% and ROE of 15.2%, which supports near-term earnings outlook. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Board approved a $100M stock repurchase program — authorization covers up to ~6.2% of outstanding shares through Dec 31, 2027, which can be accretive to EPS and is a signal management views the shares as undervalued. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Balance sheet and asset-quality improvement — the company reported another sequential increase in net income, improved asset quality, and total assets of $19.4B (up 3% YoY), reinforcing a constructive operating trajectory into 2026. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary and metric breakdowns are being published — coverage (Zacks, Yahoo) is digging into key metrics vs. estimates and historicals, useful for modeling but not changing the headline beat. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Media earnings snapshots summarizing the beat and company commentary are circulating — useful for sentiment flow but largely repeating company disclosures. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: EPS declined year-over-year despite beating estimates — Q4 EPS of $1.28 compares with $1.85 in the year-ago quarter, a reminder of earnings volatility year over year. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $42.00 target price (up from $41.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Thursday, October 30th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $38.00 price target (down previously from $40.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. UBS Group set a $42.00 target price on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Thursday, October 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MBIN. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 135.6% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,609,000 after purchasing an additional 210,151 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 1,509.5% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 175,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,589,000 after buying an additional 164,834 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 17.4% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 681,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,539,000 after purchasing an additional 101,139 shares in the last quarter. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter worth $2,984,000. Finally, Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 862,119 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,415,000 after acquiring an additional 79,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Up 15.0%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.73, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $34.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $33.01.

About Merchants Bancorp

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ: MBIN) is the bank holding company for Merchants Bank, a regional financial institution headquartered in Buffalo, New York. Through its network of branches and digital platforms, the company offers a range of banking services across western and central New York. Merchants Bancorp operates as a full‐service commercial bank, serving small and medium-sized businesses, professionals, families and individuals in its core markets.

The company’s primary activities include deposit taking, commercial and consumer lending, mortgage origination, and treasury management services.