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

First Mid Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMBH) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 56,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

First Mid Bancshares Price Performance

Shares of FMBH opened at $36.82 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $40.22 and its 200 day moving average is $38.20. First Mid Bancshares has a 12-month low of $28.86 and a 12-month high of $43.86. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $880.44 million, a P/E ratio of 11.33 and a beta of 0.91.

First Mid Bancshares Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Mid Bancshares

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMBH. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Mid Bancshares by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 30,350 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $998,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 1.0% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 88,910 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,459,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of First Mid Bancshares by 3.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 33,272 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,094,000 after buying an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in First Mid Bancshares by 17.9% during the second quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 7,568 shares of the bank’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 1,149 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position 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 buying an additional 1,510 shares during the last quarter. 47.57% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.