Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.50.

MBWM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $52.00 target price (down previously from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 22nd.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $45.76 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $743.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.67 and a beta of 0.94. Mercantile Bank has a 1 year low of $37.76 and a 1 year high of $52.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $46.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $62.39 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $61.33 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.05% and a return on equity of 14.07%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is currently 28.79%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez acquired 1,000 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $43.50 per share, with a total value of $43,500.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 3,502 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $152,337. This trade represents a 39.97% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 3.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Mercantile Bank by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,017,076 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,182,000 after acquiring an additional 147,299 shares during the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted 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 valued at $22,383,000 after purchasing an additional 239,193 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 9.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 494,367 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $22,247,000 after purchasing an additional 41,540 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Mercantile Bank by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 405,863 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $18,839,000 after buying an additional 17,580 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 12.1% during the 1st quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 321,486 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $13,965,000 after buying an additional 34,776 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.