First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) Short Interest Update

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 201,200 shares, a growth of 5.1% from the March 15th total of 191,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 55,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FMBH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Raymond James increased their target price on First Mid Bancshares from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Stephens dropped their price target on First Mid Bancshares from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $36.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMBH. ICA Group Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. FMR LLC grew its position in First Mid Bancshares by 131.4% in the first quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,259 shares of the bank’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 715 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its position in First Mid Bancshares by 310.0% in the second quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,435 shares of the bank’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 1,085 shares during the period. 47.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Mid Bancshares Price Performance

FMBH stock opened at $29.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $30.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $700.45 million, a PE ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 0.87. First Mid Bancshares has a 1 year low of $21.77 and a 1 year high of $35.83.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $79.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.10 million. First Mid Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.71% and a net margin of 17.82%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Mid Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a $0.23 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. First Mid Bancshares’s payout ratio is 29.02%.

About First Mid Bancshares

First Mid Bancshares, Inc, a financial holding company, provides community banking products and services to commercial, retail, and agricultural customers in the United States. It accepts various deposit products, such as demand deposits, savings accounts, money market deposits, and time deposits. The company's loan products include commercial real estate, commercial and industrial, agricultural and agricultural real estate, residential real estate, and consumer loans, as well as construction and land development, 1-4 family residential properties, and multifamily residential properties loans; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases.