Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 137,300 shares, a decline of 13.9% from the August 31st total of 159,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 75,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $51.00 target price (up previously from $47.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $42.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $52.00.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Mercantile Bank stock opened at $42.56 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Mercantile Bank has a 52-week low of $30.12 and a 52-week high of $51.21. The firm has a market cap of $686.11 million, a PE ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s 50 day moving average is $44.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.44.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.17. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 15.52% and a net margin of 23.99%. The business had revenue of $88.56 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Mercantile Bank will post 4.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.91%.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $96,020.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 29,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,421,576.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total transaction of $96,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,421,576.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.73, for a total value of $146,190.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 31,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,540,355.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,500 shares of company stock worth $490,933. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 8.1% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,307 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $337,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 2.7% in the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 25,321 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 655 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the second quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 248,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $10,081,000 after buying an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.