Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $36.00 price objective (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Hovde Group dropped their target price on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $32.25.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

FMAO stock opened at $33.34 on Wednesday. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a twelve month low of $22.77 and a twelve month high of $35.94. The firm has a market cap of $459.09 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.81. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $27.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $34.35 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a net margin of 20.27% and a return on equity of 10.83%. Analysts predict that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 2.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other news, Director Andrew J. Briggs sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $28.72, for a total transaction of $172,320.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 168,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,840,756. This represents a 3.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 72,825 shares of company stock valued at $2,091,612 over the last 90 days. 7.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMAO. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 72.2% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the third quarter worth about $921,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 124.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,159 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,924 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) is the bank holding company for Farmers & Merchants Bank of Central California, a community-focused institution headquartered in Los Banos, California. The bank traces its roots to 1916 and has grown to serve individuals, businesses and agricultural enterprises throughout the western San Joaquin Valley. Operating with a commitment to local decision-making, the company emphasizes personalized service and close ties to the communities in which it operates.

Through its banking subsidiary, Farmers & Merchants offers a comprehensive suite of financial products and services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, online and mobile banking platforms, and merchant services.