First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the five ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

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

First Merchants Trading Up 0.7%

First Merchants stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $40.71. The company's stock had a trading volume of 336,472 shares, compared to its average volume of 274,805. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.38 and a 200-day moving average of $39.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.28% and a net margin of 19.63%. The business had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.23 million. On average, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Investors of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 6th. This is an increase from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 40.45%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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.