Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Short Interest Down 22.1% in October

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) saw a significant decline in short interest in October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 126,200 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the October 15th total of 162,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 60,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM traded down $0.35 on Friday, reaching $49.10. The stock had a trading volume of 52,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,511. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $792.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.95. Mercantile Bank has a fifty-two week low of $33.46 and a fifty-two week high of $51.31. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $44.44 and a 200-day moving average of $42.51.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $56.83 million. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Mercantile Bank will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.92%.

Insider Activity at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $227,850.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,556 shares in the company, valued at approximately $982,306.92. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $198,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. The trade was a 13.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,500 shares of company stock worth $446,960. Company insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gradient Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank during the 2nd quarter worth about $28,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Mercantile Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. EMC Capital Management bought a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the first quarter valued at $72,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the third quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 242.6% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,799 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 1,982 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

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.