Short Interest in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Declines By 13.9%

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

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 0.4 %

NASDAQ MBWM opened at $42.56 on Monday. Mercantile Bank has a 12 month low of $30.12 and a 12 month high of $51.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.03 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $686.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.25 and a beta of 0.96. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $44.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.46.

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

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a $0.36 dividend. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $227,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $982,306.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.01, for a total value of $96,020.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 29,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,421,576.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $227,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $982,306.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 10,500 shares of company stock valued at $490,933 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 218.8% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 29,820 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,210,000 after buying an additional 20,465 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 1st quarter worth about $452,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 46,537 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,791,000 after acquiring an additional 3,500 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,653 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,523 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 4,660 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $179,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.