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

Key Points

• Analyst consensus: Seven analysts rate Mercantile Bank an average of "Moderate Buy" (four buys, three holds) with a one-year average price target of $56.20.
• Institutional interest: Multiple funds have recently added or increased positions—JPMorgan raised its stake by 37.7% to 214,647 shares—and about 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Valuation & recent results: MBWM trades near $53.37 with a market cap of $921.7M and a P/E of 9.77; it reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter (beating estimates) and analysts expect roughly 5.67 EPS for the year.

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.20.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Mercantile Bank to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 28th. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at $900,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 37.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 214,647 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,659,000 after acquiring an additional 58,743 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at $444,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 9.2% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at about $589,000. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM stock opened at $53.37 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $51.87 and a 200-day moving average of $49.16. Mercantile Bank has a 12-month low of $39.23 and a 12-month high of $55.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $921.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.77 and a beta of 0.85.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 13.54%. The business had revenue of $62.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $62.25 million. As a group, equities analysts expect that Mercantile Bank will post 5.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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