First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Cut to Hold at Zacks Research

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on FRME. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.0%

First Merchants stock opened at $36.79 on Monday. First Merchants has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $45.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.72 and its 200 day moving average is $38.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $172.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 9.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.84 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,815,000 after buying an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in First Merchants by 64.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,756,000 after acquiring an additional 527,545 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in First Merchants by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,127,423 shares of the bank’s stock worth $43,180,000 after acquiring an additional 27,965 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 8.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 947,498 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,721,000 after purchasing an additional 73,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 16.4% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 843,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $31,788,000 after purchasing an additional 118,495 shares during the period. 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.