Empowered Funds LLC Buys New Stake in First Mid Bancshares, Inc. $FMBH

Empowered Funds LLC purchased a new stake in First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 114,413 shares of the bank’s stock, valued at approximately $5,502,000. Empowered Funds LLC owned about 0.43% of First Mid Bancshares as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMBH. Clearstead Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 147.2% in the fourth quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 848 shares of the bank’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 505 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 272.5% in the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 1,438 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 1,052 shares during the period. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in First Mid Bancshares in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 47.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $54.62.

First Mid Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of First Mid Bancshares stock opened at $50.34 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. First Mid Bancshares, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.15 and a twelve month high of $53.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.34 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $49.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $45.28.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $109.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.42 million. First Mid Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.86% and a net margin of 19.76%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Mid Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Mid Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is an increase from First Mid Bancshares’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Mid Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.81%.

First Mid Bancshares 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.