First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) Short Interest Up 7.6% in December

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) saw a significant increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 112,700 shares, an increase of 7.6% from the November 30th total of 104,700 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 56,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.0 days.

First Mid Bancshares Stock Performance

Shares of FMBH stock opened at $36.82 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $40.22 and a 200 day moving average of $38.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $880.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.91. First Mid Bancshares has a 1 year low of $28.86 and a 1 year high of $43.86.

First Mid Bancshares Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.61%. First Mid Bancshares’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson downgraded shares of First Mid Bancshares from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $44.00 to $47.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $46.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on First Mid Bancshares from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Stephens cut First Mid Bancshares from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $42.50.

Institutional Trading of First Mid Bancshares

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in First Mid Bancshares by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 778,135 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,584,000 after purchasing an additional 36,769 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 7.3% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 387,926 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,094,000 after acquiring an additional 26,560 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 340,343 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,190,000 after acquiring an additional 65,314 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 24.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 133,132 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,180,000 after acquiring an additional 25,855 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 118,048 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,881,000 after acquiring an additional 7,849 shares in the last quarter. 47.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.