Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Sell-Side Analysts

Shares of Mechanics Bancorp (NASDAQ:MCHB) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $17.10.

MCHB has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Mechanics Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Mechanics Bancorp in a research note on Friday, September 18th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $17.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on Mechanics Bancorp from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Mechanics Bancorp from $16.00 to $17.50 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th.

Mechanics Bancorp Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ MCHB opened at $15.17 on Friday. Mechanics Bancorp has a one year low of $12.91 and a one year high of $17.38. The company has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.33 and a beta of 1.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $15.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $15.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.78.

Mechanics Bancorp Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Saturday, August 29th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 28th. This is a decrease from Mechanics Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.6%. Mechanics Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 81.30%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mechanics Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Mechanics Bancorp by 1.3% during the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,098,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,201,000 after acquiring an additional 13,648 shares during the last quarter. Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Mechanics Bancorp during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $7,563,000. Mendon Capital Advisors Corp acquired a new position in shares of Mechanics Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at $5,127,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mechanics Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $4,028,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Mechanics Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth about $1,662,000. 74.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mechanics Bancorp

Mechanics Bancorp, Inc is the bank holding company for Mechanics Bank, a community banking institution headquartered in Mansfield, Ohio. Through its banking subsidiary, the company serves individuals, families, small businesses and commercial customers in communities across north-central Ohio.

Mechanics Bank provides traditional banking products and services, including deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate loans, consumer lending, business financing, treasury management and online and mobile banking.