Mercantile Bank (MBWM) Competitors

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) and Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) are both finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their community ranking, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings, valuation, profitability, risk, dividends and media sentiment.

Is FIBK or MBWM more profitable?

Mercantile Bank has a net margin of 21.99% compared to First Interstate BancSystem's net margin of 15.94%. Mercantile Bank's return on equity of 14.29% beat First Interstate BancSystem's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Interstate BancSystem	15.94%	6.92%	0.75%
Mercantile Bank	21.99%	14.29%	1.41%

Does the media prefer FIBK or MBWM?

In the previous week, First Interstate BancSystem had 10 more articles in the media than Mercantile Bank. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for First Interstate BancSystem and 5 mentions for Mercantile Bank. Mercantile Bank's average media sentiment score of 0.50 beat First Interstate BancSystem's score of 0.34 indicating that Mercantile Bank is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Interstate BancSystem	4 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	5 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Mercantile Bank	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has better earnings and valuation, FIBK or MBWM?

First Interstate BancSystem has higher revenue and earnings than Mercantile Bank. Mercantile Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Interstate BancSystem, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Interstate BancSystem	$999.70M	2.70	$226M	$2.19	11.79
Mercantile Bank	$231.48M	2.79	$79.59M	$4.95	8.04

Which has more volatility & risk, FIBK or MBWM?

First Interstate BancSystem has a beta of 0.81, meaning that its share price is 19% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mercantile Bank has a beta of 0.86, meaning that its share price is 14% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FIBK or MBWM?

Mercantile Bank received 37 more outperform votes than First Interstate BancSystem when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 59.06% of users gave Mercantile Bank an outperform vote while only 49.55% of users gave First Interstate BancSystem an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Interstate BancSystem	Outperform Votes 276 49.55%	Underperform Votes 281 50.45%
Mercantile Bank	Outperform Votes 313 59.06%	Underperform Votes 217 40.94%

Do insiders and institutionals believe in FIBK or MBWM?

88.7% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 58.6% of Mercantile Bank shares are owned by institutional investors. 6.9% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.1% of Mercantile Bank shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Is FIBK or MBWM a better dividend stock?

First Interstate BancSystem pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.3%. Mercantile Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. First Interstate BancSystem pays out 85.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mercantile Bank pays out 29.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Mercantile Bank has raised its dividend for 14 consecutive years.

Do analysts prefer FIBK or MBWM?

First Interstate BancSystem presently has a consensus price target of $35.00, suggesting a potential upside of 35.58%. Mercantile Bank has a consensus price target of $54.67, suggesting a potential upside of 37.44%. Given Mercantile Bank's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Mercantile Bank is more favorable than First Interstate BancSystem.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Interstate BancSystem	2 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.14
Mercantile Bank	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Summary

Mercantile Bank beats First Interstate BancSystem on 13 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.