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

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest during the month of 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 daily volume of 72,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total transaction of $50,220.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $593,098.20. This trade represents a 7.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,250 shares of company stock valued at $359,883 in the last quarter. 3.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $102,000. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $133,000. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MBWM. Hovde Group raised shares of Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

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

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) 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, research analysts predict that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 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.