Stephens Upgrades Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Stephens upgraded Mercantile Bank to a "Hold", while several other firms raised price targets to the mid-$50s and the stock carries a consensus rating of Moderate Buy with a $56.20 target.
• Shares opened at $49.31 (down ~1.1%), the company reported a slight EPS beat of $1.40 versus $1.37, and trades at a P/E of 9.03 with a market cap of about $852 million.
• Institutional ownership is high (58.63%), with recent large buys including a new $14.2M stake by Wellington and significant increases from Tributary Capital and others, indicating growing institutional interest.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Stephens to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on MBWM. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price target on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Hovde Group increased their price objective on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 target price on Mercantile Bank in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $56.20.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $49.31 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $851.58 million, a P/E ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.89. Mercantile Bank has a 12 month low of $37.76 and a 12 month high of $55.77. The company's 50-day moving average price is $51.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $48.46.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $62.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.25 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MBWM. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $14,181,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 92.6% during the third quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 497,402 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $22,383,000 after purchasing an additional 239,193 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 73.1% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,904 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $7,236,000 after purchasing an additional 65,823 shares during the period. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 319.8% in the fourth quarter. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC now owns 83,966 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $4,039,000 after purchasing an additional 63,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 36.9% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 201,713 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $9,077,000 after purchasing an additional 54,373 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 58.63% of the company's stock.

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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