Short Interest in First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) Rises By 19.8%

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) was the target of a large growth in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 141,900 shares, a growth of 19.8% from the March 15th total of 118,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 63,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on FMBH shares. Hovde Group reduced their price target on shares of First Mid Bancshares from $48.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 14th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $43.00 price target on shares of First Mid Bancshares in a report on Friday, January 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $45.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 35.0% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,352 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,720 shares in the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in First Mid Bancshares in the 1st quarter valued at $240,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in First Mid Bancshares by 13,062.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,607 shares of the bank’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 4,572 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 402,826 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $14,832,000 after buying an additional 14,900 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 22,605 shares of the bank’s stock worth $832,000 after buying an additional 3,646 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 47.57% of the company’s stock.

First Mid Bancshares Stock Up 3.3 %

Shares of FMBH traded up $1.08 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $33.18. 14,046 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,410. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $795.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.10 and a beta of 0.85. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $35.12 and its 200-day moving average is $37.65. First Mid Bancshares has a 1 year low of $27.58 and a 1 year high of $43.86.

First Mid Bancshares (NASDAQ:FMBH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The bank reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Mid Bancshares will post 3.61 earnings per share for the current year.

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.