Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Short Interest Down 5.7% in March

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 174,100 shares, a drop of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 184,700 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 19,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.9 days.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock opened at $19.85 on Thursday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a 1-year low of $16.90 and a 1-year high of $27.78. The firm has a market cap of $271.15 million, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $20.87 and a 200-day moving average of $20.79.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.09. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 14.62%. The business had revenue of $23.86 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.90 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Farmers & Merchants Bancorp news, Director Jo Ellen Hornish acquired 3,594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was bought at an average price of $20.56 per share, with a total value of $73,892.64. Following the purchase, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $822,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 7.89% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FMAO. Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 88.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 84.3% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 4,132 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after buying an additional 1,890 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth about $94,000. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.00 target price on the stock.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small businesses in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and custodial services for individual retirement and health savings accounts.