FirstMerit Corp. (FMER) Lifted to “Buy” at Zacks Investment Research

FirstMerit Corp. (NASDAQ:FMER) was upgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a $24.00 price objective on the financial services provider’s stock. Zacks Investment Research’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 13.69% from the stock’s previous close.

According to Zacks, “FirstMerit Corporation is a financial services company. FirstMerit provides a complete range of banking and other financial services to consumers and businesses through its core operations. Principal wholly-owned subsidiaries include FirstMerit Bank, N.A., FirstMerit Mortgage Corporation, FirstMerit Credit Life Insurance Company, FirstMerit Community Development Corporation, and Mobile Consultants, Inc. (Company Press Release) “

FirstMerit Corp. (NASDAQ:FMER) traded up 0.14% on Thursday, reaching $21.11. 532,820 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The firm has a market cap of $3.51 billion and a PE ratio of 15.99. FirstMerit Corp. has a 12 month low of $15.33 and a 12 month high of $23.15. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $20.58 and its 200-day moving average is $20.63.

FirstMerit Corp. (NASDAQ:FMER) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 26th. The financial services provider reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.02. The firm earned $252.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $258.24 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.33 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that FirstMerit Corp. will post $1.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Separately, Barclays PLC upped their target price on shares of FirstMerit Corp. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 1st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.29.

Several large investors recently modified their holdings of the company. Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of FirstMerit Corp. during the first quarter valued at about $100,592,000. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in FirstMerit Corp. by 313.4% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,949,514 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $55,008,000 after buying an additional 2,236,110 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in FirstMerit Corp. by 511.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,958,611 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,229,000 after buying an additional 1,638,288 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in FirstMerit Corp. during the fourth quarter worth $28,164,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in FirstMerit Corp. by 19,350.8% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,106,555 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $20,637,000 after buying an additional 1,100,866 shares during the period.

FirstMerit Corporation is a bank holding company. The Company’s business consists of owning and supervising its affiliates. It operates through FirstMerit Bank, N.A. and its other subsidiaries, providing a range of banking, fiduciary, financial, insurance and investment services to customers throughout Ohio, the Chicago, Illinois-metropolitan area, Michigan, Wisconsin and Western Pennsylvania.