Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $0.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.04, FiscalAI reports. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 17.47%.The business had revenue of $32.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.30 million.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

NASDAQ FMAO opened at $29.57 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $20.88 and a fifty-two week high of $29.63. The business has a fifty day moving average of $26.28 and a 200-day moving average of $25.44. The stock has a market cap of $406.59 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.84.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This is a positive change from Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.66%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FMAO. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 682,608 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,072,000 after acquiring an additional 4,979 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 301,252 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $7,448,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 214,561 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $5,304,000 after purchasing an additional 12,677 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 37,696 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $932,000 after buying an additional 15,211 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 2.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,483 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $637,000 after buying an additional 722 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on FMAO. Zacks Research downgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 30th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) is the bank holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California, a community-focused institution headquartered in Los Banos, California. The bank traces its roots to 1916 and has grown to serve individuals, businesses and agricultural enterprises throughout the western San Joaquin Valley. Operating with a commitment to local decision-making, the company emphasizes personalized service and close ties to the communities in which it operates.

Through its banking subsidiary, Farmers & Merchants offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, online and mobile banking platforms, and merchant services.