First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 16th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the bank on Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 6th.
First Merchants has increased its dividend by an average of 8.8% annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. First Merchants has a dividend payout ratio of 39.1% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Merchants to earn $3.57 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 39.2%.
First Merchants Stock Up 0.1 %
First Merchants stock traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $37.80. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 9,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 249,872. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.87 and a quick ratio of 0.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $34.69. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $25.70 and a 52-week high of $42.44.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of research firms recently commented on FRME. Hovde Group began coverage on First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Stephens cut First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.20.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on FRME
About First Merchants
First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.
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