Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Key Points

• Mercantile Bank shares experienced a gap up from $44.63 to $46.32 after reporting quarterly earnings of $1.46 per share, exceeding analyst expectations by $0.08.
• Several analysts have revised their price targets for Mercantile Bank, with Piper Sandler and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods setting targets of $56.00, while Zacks Research lowered its rating from "strong-buy" to "hold."
• Institutional investors and hedge funds hold 58.63% of Mercantile Bank's stock, indicating significant interest from the investment community.

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $44.63, but opened at $46.32. Mercantile Bank shares last traded at $45.00, with a volume of 7,394 shares.

The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.08. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.52% and a net margin of 22.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MBWM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $47.50 to $56.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial raised Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Mercantile Bank from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $55.25.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 1.3% in the second quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 22,877 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 1.4% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 21,779 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,011,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 4.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 7,178 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $333,000 after acquiring an additional 309 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.6% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $420,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.2% during the second quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 11,579 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $537,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Stock Up 0.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $728.57 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.90 and a beta of 0.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $46.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.42.

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.

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