Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Trading Up 3.9%

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) rose 3.9% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $36.00 and last traded at $35.88. Approximately 43,792 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 77,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $34.53.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MBWM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Hovde Group downgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $47.00 target price on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott upgraded shares of Mercantile Bank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 4.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $578.87 million, a PE ratio of 6.69 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $36.85 and its 200-day moving average is $36.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $56.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.00 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 25.58% and a return on equity of 16.74%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Co. will post 4.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.13%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 2.7% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 11,666 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 0.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 45,785 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,415,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the third quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 9,059 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $280,000 after buying an additional 338 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 9.2% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,191 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Mercantile Bank

Mercantile Bank Corporation operates as the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan that provides commercial and retail banking services to small- to medium-sized businesses and individuals in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, including checking, savings, and term certificate accounts; time deposits; and certificates of deposit.