Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the recipient of 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. Currently, 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 72,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on MBWM. Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ MBWM traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $48.09. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 101,200 shares, compared to its average volume of 72,457. The company’s 50-day moving average is $46.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.14. Mercantile Bank has a 1-year low of $33.46 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $776.46 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01.

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

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBWM. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 16,423 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,484,000 after purchasing an additional 14,202 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 132.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,451 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $938,000 after purchasing an additional 12,239 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 35.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after purchasing an additional 21,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 83.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 14,263 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.