Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Price Target Raised to $56.00

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) had its target price upped by Hovde Group from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

MBWM has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a research report on Monday, December 15th. Raymond James Financial reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $52.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research cut Mercantile Bank from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $55.00.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

Mercantile Bank stock opened at $49.51 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $45.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $46.46. Mercantile Bank has a 12 month low of $37.76 and a 12 month high of $51.89. The company has a market cap of $804.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.08. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.78% and a net margin of 23.05%.The business had revenue of $62.39 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $61.33 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.38 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.79%.

Insider Activity

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Nelson F. Sanchez purchased 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 31st. The stock was bought at an average cost of $43.50 per share, for a total transaction of $43,500.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 3,502 shares in the company, valued at $152,337. The trade was a 39.97% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Mercantile Bank by 116.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new position in Mercantile Bank during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Mercantile Bank during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the second quarter worth $54,000. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

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.