Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) Short Interest Up 39.4% in March

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 354,221 shares, a growth of 39.4% from the March 15th total of 254,105 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 134,729 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.6 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Mercantile Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 116.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 838 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 63.8% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 891 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mercantile Bank by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,041 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 884 shares during the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Mercantile Bank Stock Down 1.4%

NASDAQ MBWM opened at $52.30 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $903.22 million, a PE ratio of 9.58 and a beta of 0.85. Mercantile Bank has a fifty-two week low of $39.23 and a fifty-two week high of $55.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $48.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Mercantile Bank (NASDAQ:MBWM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The financial services provider reported $1.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $62.07 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $62.25 million. Mercantile Bank had a return on equity of 13.54% and a net margin of 23.87%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Mercantile Bank will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MBWM. Piper Sandler set a $57.00 price target on Mercantile Bank in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $56.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Mercantile Bank in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Mercantile Bank to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Hovde Group upped their price target on Mercantile Bank from $53.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Mercantile Bank has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.20.

Mercantile Bank Company Profile

Mercantile Bank Corporation (NASDAQ: MBWM) is the bank holding company for Mercantile Bank of Michigan, a full-service commercial bank headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through its state-chartered subsidiary, the company provides a broad range of financial products and services to small and mid-sized businesses, professionals and consumers across West and Central Michigan.

The bank’s core offerings include deposit products such as checking, savings and money market accounts, alongside commercial and consumer loan portfolios.