Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $55.3750.

MBWM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Raymond James Financial upped their target price on Mercantile Bank from $52.00 to $54.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $55.50 price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.50 per share, with a total value of $43,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $152,337. The trade was a 39.97% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 3.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MBWM. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 116.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the second quarter worth $80,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $48.94 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $47.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $46.94. The company has a market cap of $795.28 million, a P/E ratio of 9.27 and a beta of 0.89. Mercantile Bank has a 12-month low of $37.76 and a 12-month high of $51.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $62.39 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.33 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 23.05%. Equities analysts expect that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.79%.

About Mercantile Bank

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through its state-chartered subsidiary, the company provides a broad range of financial products and services to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and consumers across West and Central Michigan.

The bank’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside commercial and consumer loan portfolios.