Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 57,100 shares, a drop of 53.5% from the November 15th total of 122,900 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 60,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

MBWM traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.60. The company had a trading volume of 67,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 68,035. The stock has a market cap of $800.64 million, a PE ratio of 9.96 and a beta of 0.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $46.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.02. Mercantile Bank has a 12-month low of $33.46 and a 12-month high of $52.98.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $93.08 million for 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Mercantile Bank will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total value of $198,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. This trade represents a 13.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 10,550 shares of company stock valued at $531,660 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MBWM. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,123 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 99.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 32,981 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,441,000 after buying an additional 16,423 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,484,000 after purchasing an additional 14,202 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Mercantile Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 119.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 29,622 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,295,000 after acquiring an additional 16,115 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Mercantile Bank from $50.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

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.