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

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 232,325 shares, a drop of 25.0% from the February 26th total of 309,952 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 121,975 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FMBH. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Zacks Research lowered First Mid Bancshares from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.75.

First Mid Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FMBH stock opened at $40.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The company has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a PE ratio of 10.45 and a beta of 0.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $41.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.65. First Mid Bancshares has a 12 month low of $27.58 and a 12 month high of $44.85.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The bank reported $1.06 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.06. The business had revenue of $90.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $67.86 million. First Mid Bancshares had a net margin of 19.69% and a return on equity of 10.44%. Analysts predict that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

First Mid Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 12th were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 12th. First Mid Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.04%.

Insider Activity at First Mid Bancshares

In related news, EVP Bradley L. Beesley sold 6,000 shares of First Mid Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $44.00, for a total value of $264,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 12,378 shares in the company, valued at $544,632. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 7.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 30,042 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after purchasing an additional 11,072 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares during the 4th quarter worth about $212,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 98,917 shares of the bank’s stock worth $3,858,000 after purchasing an additional 9,582 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 12.2% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 441,366 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $17,213,000 after buying an additional 48,013 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 115.2% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 20,957 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $817,000 after buying an additional 11,217 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.57% of the company’s stock.

First Mid Bancshares Company Profile

First Mid Bancshares, Inc (NASDAQ: FMBH), headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois, is a financial services holding company that offers a comprehensive suite of banking products and services through its main subsidiary, First Mid Bank & Trust. The company’s primary business activities include commercial and retail banking, mortgage origination and servicing, wealth management and trust administration, as well as treasury and cash management solutions.

Through its branch network, First Mid provides consumer deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and online banking services.