Hovde Group Upgrades Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) to “Outperform”

Hovde Group upgraded shares of Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. They currently have $54.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock.

Separately, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM stock opened at $48.52 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $47.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.39. Mercantile Bank has a 52-week low of $33.46 and a 52-week high of $52.98. The company has a market capitalization of $783.11 million, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. Analysts predict that Mercantile Bank will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This is a boost from Mercantile Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.05%. Mercantile Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 5,800 shares of Mercantile Bank stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.75, for a total value of $300,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,025,167.50. The trade was a 22.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 10,300 shares of company stock worth $521,218 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 108.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 174,355 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,074,000 after purchasing an additional 90,802 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter worth $3,646,000. Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its position in Mercantile Bank by 16.2% in the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 287,487 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,790,000 after buying an additional 40,055 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 35.1% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 82,357 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,601,000 after buying an additional 21,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, De Lisle Partners LLP grew its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 46.9% during the third quarter. De Lisle Partners LLP now owns 55,310 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,417,000 after acquiring an additional 17,649 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.63% of the company’s stock.

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.