Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Key Points

• Short interest fell 17.9% as of April 15 to 290,873 shares (about 1.7% of shares short) with a days-to-cover ratio of 2.5, signaling reduced bearish positioning in MBWM.
• Wall Street sentiment is cautiously positive — the stock carries an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a consensus target price of $56.20 (four Buy and three Hold ratings).
• Operationally, Mercantile beat quarterly expectations with EPS $1.46 (vs. $1.33 est.) and recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.39 (3.0% yield, 28% payout ratio).

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 290,873 shares, a drop of 17.9% from the March 31st total of 354,221 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 114,632 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 1.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Stephens initiated coverage on Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $54.00 target price for the company. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 target price on Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 target price on Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Mercantile Bank to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.20.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 2.6% during 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 period. 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 worth $22,383,000 after acquiring an additional 239,193 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 496,213 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $23,868,000 after acquiring an additional 5,800 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,367 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,247,000 after acquiring an additional 41,540 shares during the period. Finally, North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Mercantile Bank by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 374,544 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $18,016,000 after acquiring an additional 19,204 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercantile Bank Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MBWM traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $51.31. 142,086 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 112,944. Mercantile Bank has a 1 year low of $41.35 and a 1 year high of $55.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $886.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.42.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $67.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $67.41 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.06% and a net margin of 24.19%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.01%.

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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