First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five research firms that are 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 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,336,937 shares of the bank's stock valued at $252,780,000 after buying an additional 138,689 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 820,649 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,736,000 after acquiring an additional 19,932 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 9.7% in the fourth 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in First Merchants by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 745,439 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,736,000 after acquiring an additional 49,384 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in First Merchants by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 731,413 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,176,000 after purchasing an additional 9,265 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $40.99 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.10 and a 200-day moving average of $39.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.51 and a beta of 1.02.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 19.63%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

About First Merchants

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.

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