Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Short Interest Update

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) saw a large decline in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 82,100 shares, a decline of 41.7% from the January 31st total of 140,800 shares. Approximately 0.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 72,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM traded down $1.10 on Tuesday, reaching $46.99. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,066. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $46.14. Mercantile Bank has a 52-week low of $33.46 and a 52-week high of $52.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market cap of $758.70 million, a P/E ratio of 9.49 and a beta of 1.00.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 21.99%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group raised Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total value of $50,220.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,098.20. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $359,883. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after acquiring an additional 16,423 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $16,484,000 after purchasing an additional 14,202 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 132.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $938,000 after purchasing an additional 12,239 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 35.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after buying an additional 21,411 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 83.7% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 31,301 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after buying an additional 14,263 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.