Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Short Interest Update

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 13th, there was short interest totaling 221,370 shares, a growth of 27.3% from the January 29th total of 173,950 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 76,070 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Currently, 1.3% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 76,070 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MBWM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Hovde Group upped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price objective on Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $56.75.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Mercantile Bank stock opened at $52.68 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $48.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The company has a market capitalization of $909.78 million, a PE ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 0.89. Mercantile Bank has a one year low of $37.76 and a one year high of $55.77.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $62.07 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.25 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 23.87%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.84%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $211,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $267,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $307,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,554,000 after buying an additional 8,014 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth about $14,181,000. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mercantile Bank

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through its state-chartered subsidiary, the company provides a broad range of financial products and services to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and consumers across West and Central Michigan.

The bank’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside commercial and consumer loan portfolios.