First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Should You Buy?

Shares of First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) saw unusually-high trading volume on Friday . Approximately 46,607 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 17% from the previous session’s volume of 55,934 shares.The stock last traded at $35.08 and had previously closed at $35.24.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on FMBH. Hovde Group cut their target price on First Mid Bancshares from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $43.00 price objective on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Mid Bancshares presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

First Mid Bancshares Trading Down 0.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $839.85 million, a P/E ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $37.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.56.

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

First Mid Bancshares Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 13th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. First Mid Bancshares’s payout ratio is currently 29.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FMBH. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 17.2% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 43,252 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 6,353 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $869,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the 3rd quarter valued at $84,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 33.6% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 6,001 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,000 after purchasing an additional 1,510 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 18,959 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $738,000 after purchasing an additional 2,028 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 47.57% of the company’s stock.

About First Mid Bancshares

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.