Short Interest in Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) Decreases By 73.9%

Farmers National Banc Corp. (NASDAQ:FMNB) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 767,086 shares, a drop of 73.9% from the February 26th total of 2,939,211 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 535,429 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.4 days. Currently, 2.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Transactions at Farmers National Banc

In other news, Director Edward Muransky purchased 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $12.74 per share, with a total value of $509,600.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 196,020 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,497,294.80. This represents a 25.64% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders acquired 41,672 shares of company stock valued at $530,974 over the last three months. Company insiders own 3.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Farmers National Banc

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Smithfield Trust Co bought a new stake in Farmers National Banc in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Godfrey Financial Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Farmers National Banc during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Farmers National Banc by 9,065.7% during the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,208 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 3,173 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in shares of Farmers National Banc by 49.0% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,519 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 1,487 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its stake in shares of Farmers National Banc by 220.1% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 4,827 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 3,319 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 38.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on FMNB shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Farmers National Banc in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Farmers National Banc from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Farmers National Banc from $16.00 to $14.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Farmers National Banc from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $14.50.

Farmers National Banc Price Performance

Shares of Farmers National Banc stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Thursday, hitting $12.98. 198,770 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 442,778. The stock has a market cap of $489.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Farmers National Banc has a 52 week low of $11.58 and a 52 week high of $15.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $13.12 and its 200-day moving average is $13.58.

Farmers National Banc (NASDAQ:FMNB) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The bank reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by ($0.07). Farmers National Banc had a return on equity of 13.03% and a net margin of 19.50%.The firm had revenue of $49.89 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $50.70 million. Research analysts expect that Farmers National Banc will post 1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Farmers National Banc Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th were paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 13th. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.2%. Farmers National Banc’s dividend payout ratio is 46.90%.

Farmers National Banc Company Profile

Farmers National Banc Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Farmers National Bank, a community-oriented financial institution headquartered in Ada, Ohio. The company provides a comprehensive suite of banking services through a network of branches serving rural and small-town markets across central Ohio. Its local decision-making model emphasizes personalized customer service and close ties to the communities it serves.

The company’s primary business activities include the origination of commercial loans, consumer installment loans, agricultural financing, and residential mortgages.