Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 253,300 shares, an increase of 5.2% from the November 30th total of 240,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 89,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers National Banc

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Farmers National Banc by 142.8% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 76,133 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,151,000 after buying an additional 44,783 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in Farmers National Banc by 330.9% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 55,930 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 42,951 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Farmers National Banc by 5.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 846,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $12,802,000 after acquiring an additional 44,349 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Investment Advisers Inc. bought a new position in shares of Farmers National Banc in the third quarter worth about $148,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Farmers National Banc by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 849,499 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,844,000 after purchasing an additional 28,499 shares in the last quarter. 38.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Farmers National Banc Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FMNB opened at $14.22 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.74. Farmers National Banc has a fifty-two week low of $11.55 and a fifty-two week high of $16.32. The company has a market cap of $534.50 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $14.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $14.49.

Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The bank reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.35 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $70.26 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $42.90 million. Farmers National Banc had a return on equity of 11.92% and a net margin of 17.26%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Farmers National Banc will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers National Banc Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 13th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 13th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.78%. Farmers National Banc’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.28%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FMNB. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $17.00 target price on shares of Farmers National Banc in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Farmers National Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Farmers National Banc Company Profile

Farmers National Banc Corp. operates as a bank holding company for The Farmers National Bank of Canfield engages in the banking, trust, retirement consulting, insurance, and financial management businesses. It offers commercial and retail banking services, including checking, savings, and time deposit accounts; commercial, mortgage and installment, and home equity loans; home equity lines of credit, night depository, safe deposit box, money order, bank check, automated teller machine, Internet banking, travel card, E bond transaction, brokerage, and other services.