First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FRME. Weiss Ratings raised First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, May 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th.

First Merchants Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $42.02 on Thursday. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $34.66 and a 1 year high of $45.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.47 and a beta of 0.84. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.95.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 17.05%.The company had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.94 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th will be paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 47.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Merchants news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,798,000 after buying an additional 19,375 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in First Merchants by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after buying an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 6.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,370,000 after acquiring an additional 8,212 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 941.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after buying an additional 97,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 42.6% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 43,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.