Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) Short Interest Update

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 126,200 shares, a decline of 22.1% from the October 15th total of 162,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 60,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 0.8% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ MBWM traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $49.10. 52,195 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 68,680. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $44.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.43. Mercantile Bank has a 52 week low of $33.46 and a 52 week high of $51.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $792.47 million, a PE ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.95.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The financial services provider reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.04. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 14.59% and a net margin of 22.77%. The firm had revenue of $93.08 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $56.83 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Mercantile Bank will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.93%. Mercantile Bank’s payout ratio is 28.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total transaction of $227,850.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,556 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $982,306.92. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.51, for a total transaction of $198,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,267,951.10. This represents a 13.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,500 shares of company stock worth $446,960 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 805,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,997,000 after buying an additional 21,616 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Mercantile Bank by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 530,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,539,000 after buying an additional 8,100 shares during the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 363,806 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $14,760,000 after acquiring an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 18.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,530,000 after acquiring an additional 47,528 shares during the period. Finally, LSV Asset Management lifted its position in Mercantile Bank by 15.4% during the second quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 260,129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $10,553,000 after purchasing an additional 34,725 shares during the period. 58.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.