First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• First Mid Bancshares has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from six research firms, with an average target price of $43.33.
• CEO Clay M. Dean sold 1,553 shares of the company at an average price of $37.64, reducing his position by 12.15%.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.25, representing an increase from the previous dividend and a 2.7% yield.

Shares of First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the six research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FMBH shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $40.00 target price (down from $43.00) on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Mid Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 26th. Stephens restated a "positive" rating on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 28th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Mid Bancshares news, CEO Clay M. Dean sold 1,553 shares of First Mid Bancshares stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.64, for a total transaction of $58,454.92. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 11,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $422,659.56. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 7.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 804.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the bank's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in First Mid Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 1,226.4% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 955 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 883 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in First Mid Bancshares in the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 47.57% of the company's stock.

First Mid Bancshares Stock Performance

First Mid Bancshares stock traded down $0.63 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 11,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 64,143. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $921 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.89 and a beta of 0.91. First Mid Bancshares has a twelve month low of $27.58 and a twelve month high of $43.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $37.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $36.42.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $88.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.42 million. First Mid Bancshares had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 18.32%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Mid Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from First Mid Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. First Mid Bancshares's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.27%.

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, 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.