Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Shares Up 6.9% After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM)’s share price traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $47.50 and last traded at $47.26. 11,700 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average session volume of 55,183 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.21.

The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.29% and a net margin of 21.99%.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a positive change from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.09%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on MBWM shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group upgraded Mercantile Bank from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $54.00 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 5,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total transaction of $300,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,025,167.50. This trade represents a 22.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 10,300 shares of company stock worth $521,218. 3.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,484,000 after acquiring an additional 14,202 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 287,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,790,000 after buying an additional 40,055 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 4.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 196,324 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $8,583,000 after buying an additional 8,413 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 108.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,074,000 after acquiring an additional 90,802 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,601,000 after acquiring an additional 21,411 shares during the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 1.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $774.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.69 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $47.00 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.39.

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.