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First Mid Bancshares (FMBH) Stock Jumps 5.8%: Will It Continue to Soar?

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First Mid Bancshares (FMBH - Free Report) shares ended the last trading session 5.8% higher at $34.16. The jump came on an impressive volume with a higher-than-average number of shares changing hands in the session. This compares to the stock's 3.9% gain over the past four weeks.

The Federal Reserve has signaled an end to the current rate hike cycle by keeping interest rates unchanged at the 22-year high of 5.25-5.5% at the end of the two-day FOMC meeting. The central bank has also indicated a 75 basis points cut in rates by 2024-end. The above-mentioned developments have attributed to bullish investor sentiments. Given the fall in rates, the higher funding costs being faced by banks will likely come down somewhat next year, thus supporting net interest income and margins. This probably drove the FMBH stock higher, which touched a new 52-week high in last day’s trading session.

This bank holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.83 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -17.8%. Revenues are expected to be $77.1 million, up 20.7% from the year-ago quarter.

Earnings and revenue growth expectations certainly give a good sense of the potential strength in a stock, but empirical research shows that trends in earnings estimate revisions are strongly correlated with near-term stock price movements.

For First Mid Bancshares, the consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. And a stock's price usually doesn't keep moving higher in the absence of any trend in earnings estimate revisions. So, make sure to keep an eye on FMBH going forward to see if this recent jump can turn into more strength down the road.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks here >>>>

First Mid Bancshares is part of the Zacks Banks - Northeast industry. Mid Penn Bancorp (MPB - Free Report) , another stock in the same industry, closed the last trading session 3.2% higher at $23.72. MPB has returned 3.8% in the past month.

Mid Penn Bancorp's consensus EPS estimate for the upcoming report has remained unchanged over the past month at $0.61. Compared to the company's year-ago EPS, this represents a change of -38.4%. Mid Penn Bancorp currently boasts a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell).


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