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

Mercantile Bank Co. (NASDAQ:MBWM) was the recipient 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. Approximately 0.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 60,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Mercantile Bank Stock Performance

MBWM traded down $0.35 during trading on Friday, hitting $49.10. The stock had a trading volume of 52,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 59,511. 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 50 day moving average price of $44.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $42.48. Mercantile Bank has a one year low of $33.46 and a one year high of $51.31. The firm has a market cap of $792.47 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Mercantile Bank Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Mercantile Bank

In other Mercantile Bank news, Director Robert B. Kaminski sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,610 shares in the company, valued at $1,267,951.10. This trade represents a 13.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael H. Price sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.57, for a total value of $227,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,556 shares in the company, valued at $982,306.92. The trade was a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 9,500 shares of company stock worth $446,960 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Mercantile Bank

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 805,334 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,997,000 after acquiring an additional 21,616 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Mercantile Bank by 1.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 530,913 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,539,000 after purchasing an additional 8,100 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 376,979 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $16,484,000 after purchasing an additional 14,202 shares in the last quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,532 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Mercantile Bank by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 308,849 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $12,530,000 after buying an additional 47,528 shares in the last quarter. 58.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.