Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) Upgraded to “Hold” at Stephens

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) was upgraded by analysts at Stephens to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

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

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM opened at $49.31 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $48.46. Mercantile Bank has a fifty-two week low of $37.76 and a fifty-two week high of $55.77. The company has a market capitalization of $851.58 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.03 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $62.07 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $62.25 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 23.87% and a return on equity of 13.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 173.0% in 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 acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $211,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $267,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $307,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 73,878 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,554,000 after buying an additional 8,014 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.