Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Given Outperform Rating at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $47.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 39.84% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on MBWM. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Mercantile Bank from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Hovde Group lowered shares of Mercantile Bank from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th.

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM traded down $0.53 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $33.61. 69,664 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 76,960. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a current ratio of 1.04 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm has a market cap of $541.79 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.60. Mercantile Bank has a 1 year low of $23.89 and a 1 year high of $42.82.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $56.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.00 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 27.09% and a return on equity of 16.85%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.55 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 29.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 7.5% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,480 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,312,000 after purchasing an additional 16,221 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 33,121 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.