Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Raises Dividend to $0.37 Per Share

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, January 22nd,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the financial services provider on Wednesday, March 19th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

Mercantile Bank has increased its dividend by an average of 6.4% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. Mercantile Bank has a dividend payout ratio of 31.2% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Mercantile Bank to earn $4.50 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.0%.

Mercantile Bank Price Performance

MBWM stock traded up $1.76 on Wednesday, hitting $48.52. 114,830 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 62,116. Mercantile Bank has a 1-year low of $33.46 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The stock has a market cap of $783.11 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.01. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average of $47.02 and a 200-day moving average of $45.36.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 22.77% and a return on equity of 14.59%. On average, analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MBWM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Hovde Group raised Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of Mercantile Bank 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 10,300 shares of company stock valued at $521,218 in the last three months. Insiders own 3.08% 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.

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