First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Upgraded at Raymond James Financial

Key Points

• Raymond James upgraded First Merchants from “market perform” to “outperform” and set a $46 price target, implying 15.67% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with three Buy ratings and two Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $46.
• First Merchants’ stock opened at $39.77, while its latest quarterly earnings of $0.74 per share missed the $1.02 consensus estimate; institutional investors own 73.92% of the company.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Raymond James Financial from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $46.00 price target on the bank's stock. Raymond James Financial's target price would indicate a potential upside of 15.67% 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 research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.00.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.9%

FRME opened at $39.77 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $41.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.19. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $34.66 and a twelve month high of $45.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm has a market cap of $2.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of 0.87.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). The company had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.9 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fiduciary Financial Advisors acquired a new position in First Merchants in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in First Merchants by 24.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank's stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the second quarter worth $78,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $81,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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