First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) Stock Now Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate First Mid Bancshares a “Moderate Buy,” with three buy ratings and three holds. The average 12-month price target is $54.62, with recent targets ranging from $54.00 to $62.50.
• First Mid exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.26 in EPS versus the $1.05 consensus and revenue of $109.32 million. The company has projected full-year EPS of $4.71.
• The bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.26, equal to a 2.1% annualized yield, while institutional investors own 47.57% of outstanding shares.

Shares of First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the six ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.62.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, July 27th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Piper Sandler upped their target price 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. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th.

First Mid Bancshares Stock Performance

FMBH stock opened at $49.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $50.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.02. First Mid Bancshares has a twelve month low of $34.15 and a twelve month high of $53.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22 and a beta of 0.80.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $109.32 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.42 million. First Mid Bancshares had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 10.86%. Analysts predict that First Mid Bancshares will post 4.71 earnings per share for the current year.

First Mid Bancshares Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $0.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from First Mid Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. First Mid Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMBH. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in First Mid Bancshares by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 503,186 shares of the bank's stock valued at $24,198,000 after purchasing an additional 60,733 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,173,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,012,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 5.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,101,095 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,354,000 after purchasing an additional 56,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,268,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.57% of the company's stock.

About First Mid Bancshares

First Mid Bancshares, Inc is a financial holding company headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois. Through its principal subsidiary, First Mid Bank & Trust, the company provides community banking services to individuals, families, farmers, businesses and municipalities.

Its banking services include checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and commercial loans, agricultural lending, mortgage services, treasury management and online banking. The company also provides wealth management, trust and investment services through First Mid Wealth Management, as well as insurance products through First Mid Insurance Group.

First Mid traces its roots to 1865 and has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions.

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