First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

Several research analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $37.89. The stock had a trading volume of 156,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 264,975. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.43. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 11.08 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. The company had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. On average, research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 6th will be paid a $0.36 dividend. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. First Merchants's payout ratio is presently 40.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PL Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 3,889.0% in the fourth quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,377,823 shares of the bank's stock worth $1,092,101,000 after purchasing an additional 26,691,490 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in First Merchants by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,336,937 shares of the bank's stock worth $252,780,000 after buying an additional 138,689 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in First Merchants by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank's stock worth $37,133,000 after buying an additional 332,168 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 820,649 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,736,000 after buying an additional 19,932 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Systematic Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 749,055 shares of the bank's stock valued at $29,880,000 after acquiring an additional 66,380 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.