First Merchants (FRME) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. For businesses and institutions, the company delivers commercial and industrial lending, equipment financing, lines of credit, and specialized treasury management services designed to optimize cash flow and operational efficiency. Wealth management offerings include trust and fiduciary services, investment advisory, retirement planning, and brokerage services to help clients pursue long-term financial objectives.

The company is headquartered in Muncie, Indiana, and operates a network of branch offices and lending centers across central and northern Indiana as well as central Ohio. By maintaining deep ties to its communities, First Merchants emphasizes local decision-making and personalized service, supporting economic development and small business growth in its markets.

Tracing its origins to the late 19th century, First Merchants has grown through a combination of organic expansion and strategic acquisitions. The bank is governed by an experienced management team that focuses on sustainable growth, disciplined risk management and delivering value to shareholders and customers alike.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $39.93 to $42.08
• 50-Day Range: $37.07 to $41.88
• 52-Week Range: $33.13 to $46.13
• Volume: 190,117 shs
• Average Volume: 205,453 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.37 billion
• P/E Ratio: 10.62
• Dividend Yield: 3.51%
• Price Target: $48.25
• Consensus Rating: Buy

First Merchants Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Merchants scored higher than 98% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 95th out of 922 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 3.1 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

First Merchants has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.00, and is based on 4 buy ratings, no hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

First Merchants has a consensus price target of $48.25, representing about 17.7% upside from its current price of $41.01.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Merchants has only been the subject of 1 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 7.12%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Merchants are expected to grow by 7.12% in the coming year, from $3.79 to $4.06 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Merchants is 10.62, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 277.58.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Merchants is 10.62, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 232.29.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Merchants has a P/B Ratio of 1.06. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.11% of the outstanding shares of First Merchants have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Merchants has recently increased by 12.82%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

First Merchants is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.50%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

First Merchants has been increasing its dividend for 13 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of First Merchants is 37.31%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Merchants will have a dividend payout ratio of 35.47% next year. This indicates that First Merchants will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.67

Percentage of Shares Shorted

1.11% of the outstanding shares of First Merchants have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Merchants has recently increased by 12.82%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 4.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.74

News Sentiment

First Merchants has a news sentiment score of 1.74. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.95 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 7 news articles for First Merchants this week, compared to 5 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

2 people have searched for FRME on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

1 people have added First Merchants to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Merchants insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.37% of the stock of First Merchants is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

73.92% of the stock of First Merchants is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

FRME Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have FRME shares performed this year?

First Merchants' stock was trading at $39.89 at the beginning of the year. Since then, FRME shares have increased by 2.8% and is now trading at $41.01.

How were First Merchants' earnings last quarter?

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July, 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The bank had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.88%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are First Merchants' major shareholders?

First Merchants' top institutional investors include State Street Corp (3.47%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.48%), American Century Companies Inc. (1.95%) and First Trust Advisors LP (1.33%). Insiders that own company stock include Patrick J Fehring, Michael J Stewart, Michael C Rechin, Gary Lehman, Charles E Schalliol, Howard Halderman, Stephan Fluhler and Jason R Sondhi.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of First Merchants?

Shares of FRME stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of First Merchants own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that First Merchants investors own include Tesla (TSLA), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Netflix (NFLX) and Visa (V).

Company Calendar

• Record date for 6/20 Dividend: 6/06/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 6/20 Dividend: 6/06/2025
• Dividend Payable: 6/20/2025
• Last Earnings: 7/23/2025
• Today: 9/05/2025
• Record date for 9/19 Dividend: 9/05/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 9/19 Dividend: 9/05/2025
• Dividend Payable: 9/19/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/23/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: BANKS - MIDWEST
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:FRME
• CIK: 712534
• Web: www.firstmerchants.com
• Phone: (765) 747-1500
• Fax: 765-282-6304
• Employees: 2,120
• Year Founded: 1982

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for First Merchants: $48.25
• High Price Target: $50.00
• Low Price Target: $46.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +17.7%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.00
• Research Coverage: 4 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $3.86
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 10.62
• Forward P/E Ratio: 10.82
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $201.40 million
• Net Margins: 21.35%
• Pretax Margin: 24.72%
• Return on Equity: 9.88%
• Return on Assets: 1.23%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.41
• Current Ratio: 0.90
• Quick Ratio: 0.90

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $637.74 million
• Price / Sales: 3.71
• Cash Flow: $3.87 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 10.59
• Book Value: $38.86 per share
• Price / Book: 1.06

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 57,732,000
• Free Float: 56,941,000
• Market Cap: $2.37 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.10