Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.75.

Several equities analysts recently commented on MBWM shares. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Hovde Group lifted their price target on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price target on Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MBWM stock opened at $54.93 on Thursday. Mercantile Bank has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $55.33. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $49.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock has a market capitalization of $943.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 0.89.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.03% and a net margin of 23.87%.The company had revenue of $62.07 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $62.25 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a $0.39 dividend. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is presently 27.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MBWM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,066,368 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $51,292,000 after acquiring an additional 27,403 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 92.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 497,402 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,383,000 after acquiring an additional 239,193 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $22,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,540 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 4.5% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 405,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,839,000 after purchasing an additional 17,580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 37.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,647 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $9,659,000 after buying an additional 58,743 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.