Short Interest in Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Drops By 21.2%

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 64,700 shares, a drop of 21.2% from the February 13th total of 82,100 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 72,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.4% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Mercantile Bank Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MBWM traded down $0.16 during trading on Friday, hitting $44.38. 41,760 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 62,374. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $46.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.14. Mercantile Bank has a 1-year low of $33.46 and a 1-year high of $52.98. The firm has a market cap of $720.33 million, a P/E ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 21st. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.07. Mercantile Bank had a net margin of 21.99% and a return on equity of 14.29%. Equities analysts predict that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current year.

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Mercantile Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.37 dividend. This is an increase from Mercantile Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Mercantile Bank's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of Mercantile Bank from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $54.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.14, for a total transaction of $147,420.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,810 shares of the company's stock, valued at $826,043.40. This trade represents a 15.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 7,500 shares of company stock worth $371,910 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Mercantile Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,646,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 132,777 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,907,000 after purchasing an additional 46,559 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Mercantile Bank by 48.8% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 122,532 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $5,451,000 after purchasing an additional 40,175 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Mercantile Bank by 16.2% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 287,487 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $12,790,000 after purchasing an additional 40,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Mercantile Bank in the fourth quarter valued at $1,392,000. 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.