Short Interest in Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) Expands By 22.6%

Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 268,700 shares, an increase of 22.6% from the February 28th total of 219,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 89,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days. Currently, 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity

In other Farmers National Banc news, Director Gina A. Richardson acquired 2,334 shares of Farmers National Banc stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $13.75 per share, for a total transaction of $32,092.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 9,896 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $136,070. This represents a 30.86 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ralph D. Macali sold 14,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.00, for a total transaction of $200,200.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 48,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $685,762. The trade was a 22.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Farmers National Banc

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Farmers National Banc by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 265,792 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,780,000 after buying an additional 123,030 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Farmers National Banc by 454.0% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 146,615 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 120,150 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Farmers National Banc by 59.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 315,501 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,486,000 after purchasing an additional 117,384 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Farmers National Banc by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,038,771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,991,000 after purchasing an additional 88,392 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Farmers National Banc by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 152,629 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 76,496 shares during the period. 38.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Farmers National Banc Stock Performance

Shares of Farmers National Banc stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $13.12. 115,369 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 88,558. Farmers National Banc has a 12 month low of $11.55 and a 12 month high of $16.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.35. The company has a market capitalization of $493.51 million, a P/E ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 0.86. 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 (NASDAQ:FMNB) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The bank reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.05. Farmers National Banc had a return on equity of 11.71% and a net margin of 17.05%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Farmers National Banc will post 1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Farmers National Banc Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.18%. Farmers National Banc’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FMNB has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Farmers National Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Farmers National Banc from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd.

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.