Short Interest in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Drops By 41.7%

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on MBWM. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hovde Group raised Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 1.7 %

Shares of MBWM traded up $0.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $48.21. The company had a trading volume of 86,921 shares, compared to its average volume of 71,721. Mercantile Bank has a 1-year low of $33.46 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $46.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.08. The stock has a market cap of $778.40 million, a PE ratio of 9.74 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.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.16, for a total transaction of $150,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $692,709.60. This represents a 17.85 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock valued at $372,283 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 62.6% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 28,506 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,268,000 after purchasing an additional 10,979 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 30,845 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,372,000 after buying an additional 3,809 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $102,000. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.