Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Short Interest Update

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 140,400 shares, a growth of 20.5% from the March 31st total of 116,500 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 69,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.22, for a total value of $50,220.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $593,098.20. The trade was a 7.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,750 shares of company stock valued at $83,745 over the last ninety days. 3.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Well Done LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Well Done LLC now owns 6,391 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 14.6% during the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 2,328 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 297 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.7% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,611 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,978 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $399,000 after purchasing an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,550 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $781,000 after buying an additional 410 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Hovde Group raised shares of Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $47.50 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MBWM traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $43.90. 36,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 64,907. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $42.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $712.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 0.87. Mercantile Bank has a fifty-two week low of $35.61 and a fifty-two week high of $52.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $1.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.02. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $57.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $57.57 million. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.37%. Mercantile Bank's payout ratio is 30.71%.

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.