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

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 64,700 shares, a decline of 21.2% from the February 13th total of 82,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 72,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.9 days. Currently, 0.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $826,043.40. The trade was a 15.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,500 shares of company stock worth $371,910. 3.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the third quarter valued at $89,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $102,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $133,000. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $44.58. 48,489 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,328. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.18. Mercantile Bank has a one year low of $33.46 and a one year high of $52.98. The stock has a market cap of $723.58 million, a PE ratio of 9.01 and a beta of 0.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. As a group, analysts predict that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.