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

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 201,200 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the March 15th total of 191,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 55,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMBH. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,974 shares of the bank’s stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 5.6% during the second quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 8,723 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 132,046 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,236,000 after buying an additional 471 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in First Mid Bancshares by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 17,700 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $482,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Credit Suisse AG raised its stake in First Mid Bancshares by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 15,551 shares of the bank’s stock worth $375,000 after buying an additional 564 shares during the period. 47.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Mid Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of First Mid Bancshares stock traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.22. 25,175 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 54,590. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market cap of $698.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.24 and a beta of 0.87. First Mid Bancshares has a 12 month low of $21.77 and a 12 month high of $35.83. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $30.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.92.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $79.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.10 million. First Mid Bancshares had a net margin of 17.82% and a return on equity of 10.71%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.28 earnings per share for the current year.

First Mid Bancshares Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. First Mid Bancshares’s payout ratio is 29.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $34.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. Stephens reduced their target price on First Mid Bancshares from $40.00 to $38.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Mid Bancshares presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $36.50.

About First Mid Bancshares

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, as well as construction and land development, 1-4 family residential properties, and multifamily residential properties loans; and other loans comprising loans to municipalities to support community projects, such as infrastructure improvements or equipment purchases.