Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on FMAO. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research upgraded Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Hovde Group cut their price objective on Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from $30.00 to $28.50 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.25.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Stock Performance

Shares of FMAO stock opened at $33.36 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $459.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $29.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $27.66. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a 12 month low of $22.77 and a 12 month high of $35.94.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.19. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.27%.The company had revenue of $34.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. Equities research analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 2.94 EPS for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 10th were given a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 10th. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.62%.

Insider Activity at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other news, Director Andrew J. Briggs sold 3,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.86, for a total value of $104,580.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 87,550 shares in the company, valued at $3,051,993. The trade was a 3.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 75,825 shares of company stock worth $2,196,192. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhino Investment Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the first quarter valued at about $1,765,000. Walleye Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $204,000. Globeflex Capital L P bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 1st quarter valued at about $152,000. Legato Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 4th quarter valued at about $207,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 12,702 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $318,000 after buying an additional 2,172 shares during the period. 23.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.