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

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 assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $43.3333.

A number of brokerages recently commented on FMBH. Stephens restated a "positive" rating on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a report on Friday, May 2nd. DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $39.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Mid Bancshares from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 26th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $40.00 price objective (down from $43.00) on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $47.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 28th.

Insider Transactions at First Mid Bancshares

In other news, CEO Clay M. Dean sold 1,553 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.64, for a total value of $58,454.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 11,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $422,659.56. The trade was a 12.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMBH. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in First Mid Bancshares by 256.9% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,648 shares of the bank's stock worth $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 76,050 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 51.8% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 202,039 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,439,000 after acquiring an additional 68,907 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 891,154 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,813,000 after acquiring an additional 54,285 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in First Mid Bancshares during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,868,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 496,888 shares of the bank's stock valued at $17,341,000 after purchasing an additional 45,831 shares during the last quarter. 47.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Mid Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FMBH stock opened at $37.28 on Friday. First Mid Bancshares has a 52-week low of $27.58 and a 52-week high of $43.86. The stock has a market cap of $894.35 million, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $37.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.40.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. First Mid Bancshares had a net margin of 18.32% and a return on equity of 10.19%. The firm had revenue of $88.23 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $64.42 million. As a group, analysts forecast that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.61 EPS for the current year.

First Mid Bancshares Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is an increase from First Mid Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. First Mid Bancshares's payout ratio 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.

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