First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) gapped up before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $37.72, but opened at $38.68. First Mid Bancshares shares last traded at $37.96, with a volume of 37,256 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FMBH shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $43.00 price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on First Mid Bancshares from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. DA Davidson cut First Mid Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $44.00 to $47.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $43.40.

First Mid Bancshares Stock Performance

The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.44 and a 200-day moving average of $38.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $911.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.58 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.05. First Mid Bancshares had a net margin of 17.39% and a return on equity of 10.10%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Mid Bancshares, Inc. will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Mid Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 13th will be given a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.52%. First Mid Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director James Edwin Zimmer bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 19th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $39.87 per share, for a total transaction of $39,870.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,473.50. This trade represents a 32.79 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 7.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 804.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 733 shares of the bank’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 652 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 1,226.4% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 955 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 883 shares in the last quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Mid Bancshares during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,959 shares of the bank’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Teachers Retirement System acquired a new stake in First Mid Bancshares in the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Institutional investors own 47.57% of the company’s stock.

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.