First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) Reaches New 1-Year High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• First Mid Bancshares reached a new 52-week high, trading as high as $53.36, while analysts raised price targets. The stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average target of $54.62.
• The bank exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.26 EPS versus the $1.05 consensus and revenue of $109.32 million, above estimates of $107.42 million.
• First Mid increased its quarterly dividend from $0.25 to $0.26 per share, equivalent to a 2.0% yield, while institutional investors own 47.57% of the company.

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $53.36 and last traded at $52.52, with a volume of 165005 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $52.58.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FMBH. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Mid Bancshares from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. DA Davidson lifted their price target on First Mid Bancshares from $47.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b)" rating on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $48.00 price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $54.62.

First Mid Bancshares Trading Down 0.1%

The business has a fifty day moving average price of $47.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $43.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.79.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 23rd. The bank reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.21. First Mid Bancshares had a net margin of 19.76% and a return on equity of 11.17%. The firm had revenue of $109.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $107.42 million. Analysts expect that First Mid Bancshares, Inc. will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Mid Bancshares Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be paid a $0.26 dividend. This is a positive change from First Mid Bancshares's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. First Mid Bancshares's payout ratio is presently 25.81%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FMBH. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 256.9% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 105,648 shares of the bank's stock valued at $3,687,000 after purchasing an additional 76,050 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in First Mid Bancshares by 63.3% during the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 161,024 shares of the bank's stock worth $6,100,000 after purchasing an additional 62,404 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL boosted its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 421.7% during the third quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 71,260 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,699,000 after buying an additional 57,600 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 43.7% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 188,473 shares of the bank's stock worth $7,350,000 after buying an additional 57,320 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 5.5% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,101,095 shares of the bank's stock valued at $45,354,000 after buying an additional 56,997 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.57% of the company's stock.

First Mid Bancshares Company Profile

First Mid Bancshares, Inc NASDAQ: FMBH, headquartered in Mattoon, Illinois, is a financial services holding company that offers a comprehensive suite of banking products and services through its main subsidiary, First Mid Bank & Trust. The company's primary business activities include commercial and retail banking, mortgage origination and servicing, wealth management and trust administration, as well as treasury and cash management solutions.

Through its branch network, First Mid provides consumer deposit products such as checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit and online banking services.

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