Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Mercantile Bank has an average analyst rating of Moderate Buy from seven brokers (four buys, three holds) with a mean 12‑month target of $56.20.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.40 vs. $1.37), posted a 13.54% return on equity and 23.87% net margin, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.39 (annualized $1.56) for a yield of 3.1%.
• The stock trades around $49.78 with a P/E of 9.12 and ~$860M market cap, and institutional ownership is significant at about 58.6% with recent position increases by firms including RBC and AQR.

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) has earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.20.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price target on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens started coverage on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 1.0%

MBWM stock opened at $49.78 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $51.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Mercantile Bank has a fifty-two week low of $37.76 and a fifty-two week high of $55.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $859.85 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.12 and a beta of 0.89.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.54% 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. Analysts expect that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of 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 worth $2,989,000 after buying an additional 3,621 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 21.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 92,045 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $3,998,000 after buying an additional 16,092 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 4.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,360 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 4.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,731 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $2,508,000 after acquiring an additional 2,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 21.0% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 15,952 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $693,000 after acquiring an additional 2,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.

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