Piper Sandler Increases First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target to $51.00

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Piper Sandler from $49.00 to $51.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 15.69% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.71 on Friday, reaching $44.09. 61,916 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 377,570. The firm has a market cap of $2.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.98 and a beta of 0.85. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $34.66 and a 1-year high of $44.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50-day moving average is $40.47 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.55.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $163.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its position in First Merchants by 1.0% in the first quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 28,184 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,100 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $117,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $962,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,070,000 after buying an additional 417 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.