Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Now Covered by Stephens

Analysts at Stephens began coverage on shares of Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set an “equal weight” rating and a $54.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. Stephens’ target price suggests a potential upside of 8.28% from the stock’s current price.

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

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of Mercantile Bank stock opened at $49.87 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $51.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $48.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $861.25 million, a PE ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.89. Mercantile Bank has a 52-week low of $37.76 and a 52-week high of $55.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.93.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $62.07 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.25 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 173.0% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 17,959 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 11,381 shares during the period. DGS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $211,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Mercantile Bank by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,554,000 after acquiring an additional 8,014 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.