Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 73,555 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 23% from the previous session’s volume of 94,942 shares.The stock last traded at $49.2750 and had previously closed at $49.71.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MBWM shares. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price target on Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Hovde Group increased their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Raymond James Financial set a $57.00 target price on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $56.75.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $868.34 million, a P/E ratio of 9.21 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50 day moving average of $51.91 and a 200 day moving average of $48.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $62.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.25 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 23.87%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Mercantile Bank Corporation will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,181,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 92.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 73.1% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 155,904 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $7,236,000 after acquiring an additional 65,823 shares in the last quarter. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 319.8% during the fourth quarter. Siena Capital Partners GP LLC now owns 83,966 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $4,039,000 after acquiring an additional 63,966 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its position in Mercantile Bank by 36.9% during 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 period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.