Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 202,600 shares, a decrease of 8.8% from the September 15th total of 222,200 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 33,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.0 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at about $123,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 118,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,744,000 after purchasing an additional 12,223 shares during the last quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Perritt Capital Management Inc now owns 7,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 9.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 54,529 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,765 shares during the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FMAO traded down $0.27 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $28.49. 13,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 26,623. The stock has a market cap of $389.80 million, a PE ratio of 17.92 and a beta of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average is $26.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.96. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a one year low of $16.90 and a one year high of $28.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 12.59% and a return on equity of 6.79%. The business had revenue of $44.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.39 million. As a group, analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.221 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. This is a boost from Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 4th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is 55.35%.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small businesses in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and custodial services for individual retirement and health savings accounts.