Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research cut shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

FMAO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $36.00 target price (up from $32.00) on shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in a research note on Wednesday, July 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, September 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.25.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FMAO opened at $34.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $34.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.12. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp has a fifty-two week low of $22.77 and a fifty-two week high of $36.12. The company has a market cap of $476.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.80.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp (NASDAQ:FMAO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The financial services provider reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.19. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 20.27%.The firm had revenue of $34.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Farmers & Merchants Bancorp will post 3.05 earnings per share for the current year.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a special dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.01 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 9th. Farmers & Merchants Bancorp’s payout ratio is currently 31.62%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Farmers & Merchants Bancorp news, Director Andrew Briggs sold 2,402 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.05, for a total transaction of $84,190.10. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 49,148 shares in the company, valued at $1,722,637.40. This trade represents a 4.66% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David R. Gerken sold 1,000 shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.72, for a total value of $33,720.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,483.48. This trade represents a 13.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 42,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,407,190 in the last quarter. 7.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers & Merchants Bancorp

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FMAO. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp by 72.2% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 813 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $40,000. Globeflex Capital L P purchased a new stake in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp in the second quarter worth about $181,000. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 2nd quarter worth about $230,000. Finally, Walleye Capital LLC bought a new position in Farmers & Merchants Bancorp during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. Institutional investors own 23.96% of the company’s stock.

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp Company Profile

Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, Inc is a bank holding company headquartered in Archbold, Ohio. Its principal subsidiary, Farmers & Merchants Bank, is a community bank that provides financial services to individuals, families, farmers, and businesses.

The bank offers deposit accounts, residential and commercial real estate lending, consumer loans, agricultural financing, commercial loans, and other credit products. It also provides online and mobile banking, treasury management, trust and investment services, and other financial solutions designed to support personal and business banking needs.

Farmers & Merchants Bank traces its history to 1897 and serves communities primarily in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan through its branch network and digital banking channels.