Mercantile Bank's (MBWM) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $47.00 price target on the financial services provider's stock.

MBWM has been the topic of several other research reports. Hovde Group lowered Mercantile Bank from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. Janney Montgomery Scott raised Mercantile Bank from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

Mercantile Bank stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.62. The stock had a trading volume of 104,898 shares, compared to its average volume of 77,476. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. Mercantile Bank has a 52-week low of $23.89 and a 52-week high of $42.82. The firm's fifty day moving average is $36.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.58. The company has a market capitalization of $541.95 million, a PE ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 0.97.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $58.23 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $55.20 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 16.85% and a net margin of 27.09%. On average, research analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 7th. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.29%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 16.7% in the 1st quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,653 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 1,523 shares during the last quarter. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 112,377 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,538,000 after purchasing an additional 25,736 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 7.5% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 13,895 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 973 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 99.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,480 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,312,000 after acquiring an additional 16,221 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company's stock.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.