Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FMAO) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 174,100 shares, a decrease of 5.7% from the March 15th total of 184,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 19,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.9 days.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Price Performance

NASDAQ FMAO opened at $19.85 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $271.15 million, a P/E ratio of 11.89 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a 12-month low of $16.90 and a 12-month high of $27.78.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The financial services provider reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $0.09. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 7.46% and a net margin of 14.62%. The firm had revenue of $23.86 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.90 million. Analysts forecast that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.43%. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.69%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jo Ellen Hornish purchased 3,594 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $20.56 per share, for a total transaction of $73,892.64. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 40,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $822,400. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 7.89% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lazard Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 88.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,135 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada acquired a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $129,000. Finally, UBS Group AG grew its stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 10.5% during the 2nd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 3,613 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $120,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 23.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a report on Friday, April 5th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $22.00 target price for the company.

About Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc operates as the bank holding company for The Farmers & Merchants State Bank that provides commercial banking services to individuals and small businesses in Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana. The company offers checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; certificates of deposit; and custodial services for individual retirement and health savings accounts.