Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Purchases New Holdings in Merchants Bancorp $MBIN

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $558,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 135.6% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 365,075 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,609,000 after purchasing an additional 210,151 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Merchants Bancorp by 1,509.5% during the third 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. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Merchants Bancorp by 458.7% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,807,000 after buying an additional 115,881 shares during the period. Doma Perpetual Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,984,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Merchants Bancorp by 97.5% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 162,285 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,527,000 after buying an additional 80,136 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 24.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MBIN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of Merchants Bancorp from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Merchants Bancorp from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Morgan Stanley restated a “positive” rating and set a $49.00 price target (up from $46.00) on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research downgraded Merchants Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $58.00 price objective on shares of Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.00.

Merchants Bancorp Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MBIN opened at $47.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.68. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 1.14. Merchants Bancorp has a 12 month low of $28.75 and a 12 month high of $51.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $43.53.

Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:MBIN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.09. Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 16.64% and a return on equity of 13.40%. The company had revenue of $175.25 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $174.30 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Merchants Bancorp will post 5.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 15th were issued a dividend of $0.11 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 15th. This represents a $0.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.73%.

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.