Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. Invests $629,000 in Mercantile Bank Corporation $MBWM

Key Points

• Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. has acquired a $629,000 position in Mercantile Bank Corporation, purchasing 14,470 shares of the company's stock in the 1st quarter.
• Mercantile Bank has increased its quarterly dividend to $0.38, up from $0.37, reflecting a dividend yield of 3.1% for investors.
• Several analysts have set new price targets for Mercantile Bank, with Piper Sandler raising their target to $56.00 and Raymond James upgrading the stock to an "outperform" rating.

Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,470 shares of the financial services provider's stock, valued at approximately $629,000. Elizabeth Park Capital Advisors Ltd. owned approximately 0.09% of Mercantile Bank as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 40,289 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,792,000 after acquiring an additional 1,654 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,392,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 39,878 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,774,000 after acquiring an additional 6,897 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 8,570 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 1,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Mercantile Bank by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,133 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $273,000 after acquiring an additional 996 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Raymond James Financial raised shares of Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $49.25. 45,554 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 55,600. Mercantile Bank Corporation has a twelve month low of $37.76 and a twelve month high of $52.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $800.26 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $47.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $45.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.16. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.11% and a return on equity of 13.52%. The company had revenue of $60.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $60.02 million. Research analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.37. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio is 30.16%.

Mercantile Bank 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.