Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Hits New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $37.71 and last traded at $37.5220, with a volume of 64,293 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $36.38.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FMAO shares. Weiss Ratings lowered Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Zacks Research raised Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (up from $36.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $33.75.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.25. The company has a market capitalization of $500.18 million, a P/E ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 0.76.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The financial services provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $34.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $34.65 million. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.25% and a net margin of 21.30%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Inc. will post 3.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a special dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 9th were paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 9th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.87%.

Insider Transactions at Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

In other Farmers & Merchants Bancorp news, Director Andrew J. Briggs sold 2,402 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total value of $84,190.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,148 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,722,637.40. The trade was a 4.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 14,402 shares of company stock valued at $504,100. Company insiders own 7.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $8,843,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the second quarter worth approximately $33,241,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,524,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $907,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $439,000. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Archbold, Ohio. Founded in 1897, the company operates through its principal subsidiary, The Farmers & Merchants State Bank, a community bank serving individuals, families, farmers and businesses.

The bank offers a range of traditional financial services, including checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, consumer and residential mortgage loans, commercial lending, agricultural loans and other business banking products.