First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Given New $46.00 Price Target at Piper Sandler

Key Points

• Piper Sandler lowered First Merchants’ price target from $51 to $46 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying 14.57% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $46; two analysts rate the stock Buy and two rate it Hold.
• First Merchants reported quarterly EPS of $0.74, missing the $1.02 consensus estimate, while revenue of $202.49 million was broadly in line with expectations. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s shares.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) had its price target dropped by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $51.00 to $46.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "overweight" rating on the bank's stock. Piper Sandler's price target indicates a potential upside of 14.57% from the company's previous close.

FRME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Stephens raised shares of First Merchants to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $46.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $40.15 on Monday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $41.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $41.17. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. First Merchants has a one year low of $34.66 and a one year high of $45.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. The company had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $202.78 million. On average, research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 28,184 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,092,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 24.9% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank's stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 1.6% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 25,657 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 1.8% in the first quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 32,124 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,244,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new position in First Merchants in the second quarter valued at $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation NASDAQ: FRME is a financial services company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Merchants Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to individuals, families, businesses, and institutions.

Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgage lending, cash-management and treasury services, investment and trust services, and wealth-management solutions.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.