Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Issues Earnings Results

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.08, Zacks reports. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 22.11%.The company had revenue of $65.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.33 million.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $44.91 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $729.79 million, a PE ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 0.87. Mercantile Bank has a 52 week low of $37.76 and a 52 week high of $52.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.41.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is currently 30.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Raymond James Financial raised Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $55.25.

Institutional Trading of Mercantile Bank

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 73.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,236,000 after buying an additional 65,823 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 19.0% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 109,518 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $5,083,000 after acquiring an additional 17,473 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 107,642 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,996,000 after acquiring an additional 2,611 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 70,082 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,253,000 after acquiring an additional 7,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 68,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,989,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Mercantile Bank

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.