Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Bancorp hit a new 52-week high, trading as high as $37.71, up from its prior close of $36.38.
• Analyst opinions are mixed: the consensus is “Moderate Buy”, with one Strong Buy and three Hold ratings; the average price target of $33.75 is below the recent share price.
• The company beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.84 versus $0.80 expected and revenue of $34.81 million versus $34.65 million expected.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $37.71 and last traded at $37.5220, with a volume of 64,293 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FMAO shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research report on Monday, October 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Farmers & Merchants Bancorp currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $33.75.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Up 3.0%

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $35.27 and its 200 day moving average price is $30.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $515.72 million, a P/E ratio of 12.05 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 21.30% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The company had revenue of $34.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $34.65 million. Research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 9th were given a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp's payout ratio is currently 30.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Andrew Briggs sold 3,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.11, for a total value of $105,330.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 51,550 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,809,920.50. This trade represents a 5.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David R. Gerken sold 1,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.72, for a total transaction of $33,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $219,483.48. This trade represents a 13.32% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,402 shares of company stock worth $640,060. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMAO. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,241,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,843,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 226,917 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,825,000 after buying an additional 12,356 shares in the last quarter. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the first quarter valued at $1,765,000. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,319,000. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Archbold, Ohio. Founded in 1897, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, The Farmers & Merchants State Bank, a community bank serving individuals, families, farmers and businesses.

The bank offers a range of traditional financial services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial lending, agricultural loans and other business banking products.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.