First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.60.

FRME has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 report on Monday, October 28th.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $39.89 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $41.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.28. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.20%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,962,000 after buying an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd increased its holdings in First Merchants by 123.8% during the 3rd quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $899,000 after acquiring an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank’s stock worth $7,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,050 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after purchasing an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 43,275 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after purchasing an additional 5,016 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.