First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Up 20.0% in November

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 563,900 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the October 31st total of 469,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 269,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.91. The company has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on FRME shares. Hovde Group began coverage on First Merchants in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target for the company. Stephens downgraded shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.60.

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.