First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Declares $0.36 Quarterly Dividend

Key Points

• First Merchants Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, with a payout date set for September 19th, 2023. This indicates a strong annualized dividend yield of 3.7%.
• The company demonstrated strong earnings performance, reporting $0.98 EPS in its last quarter, exceeding expectations, and forecasts a continued ability to cover its $1.40 annual dividend.
• Shares of First Merchants traded down 1.7% on the day, with a current market cap of $2.24 billion, reflecting a P/E ratio of 10.06.

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, August 15th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th will be given a dividend of 0.36 per share by the bank on Friday, September 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 5th.

First Merchants has a payout ratio of 34.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.5%.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.50. 194,147 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 247,984. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.08. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $38.88 and a 200 day moving average of $39.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.88%. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. grew its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 1st quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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.