First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 209,700 shares, a growth of 6.1% from the October 15th total of 197,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 46,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Clay M. Dean sold 1,000 shares of First Mid Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.74, for a total value of $30,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 10,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $309,182.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 7.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMBH. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 7.3% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 1,495,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $36,100,000 after purchasing an additional 102,179 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 9.1% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 933,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,938,000 after purchasing an additional 77,601 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 2.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 605,564 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,619,000 after purchasing an additional 14,647 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 4.8% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 488,138 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $13,287,000 after purchasing an additional 22,253 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 0.9% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 411,644 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $9,937,000 after purchasing an additional 3,625 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.12% of the company’s stock.

First Mid Bancshares Price Performance

FMBH stock opened at $31.39 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $26.83. The stock has a market cap of $748.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.18 and a beta of 0.85. First Mid Bancshares has a fifty-two week low of $21.77 and a fifty-two week high of $35.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 26th. The bank reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $73.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $67.45 million. First Mid Bancshares had a return on equity of 11.10% and a net margin of 20.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Mid Bancshares Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 24th will be given a dividend of $0.23 per share. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 22nd. First Mid Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on FMBH shares. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on First Mid Bancshares from $33.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on First Mid Bancshares in a research note on Sunday, September 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $34.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on First Mid Bancshares in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on First Mid Bancshares from $32.00 to $34.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $34.50.

First Mid Bancshares Company Profile

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; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases.