Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Stock Lifted to Strong-Buy by Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FMAO. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:FMAO opened at $37.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $35.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $511.12 million, a P/E ratio of 11.93 and a beta of 0.81. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a 52-week low of $22.91 and a 52-week high of $37.60.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.80 by $0.04. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 21.30% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The company had revenue of $34.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $34.65 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 3.20 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is presently 30.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other Farmers & Merchants Bancorp news, Director Andrew J. Briggs sold 2,402 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $84,190.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 49,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,722,637.40. This represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Gerken sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.72, for a total value of $33,720.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,483.48. The trade was a 13.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 24,402 shares of company stock worth $845,410. Corporate insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMAO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter worth $33,241,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the second quarter valued at $8,843,000. Rhino Investment Partners Inc bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $1,765,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter valued at $1,319,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth $1,524,000. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Archbold, Ohio. Founded in 1897, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, The Farmers & Merchants State Bank, a community bank serving individuals, families, farmers and businesses.

The bank offers a range of traditional financial services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial lending, agricultural loans and other business banking products.