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

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) announced 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) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%.

First Merchants has a payout ratio of 34.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities 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 Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of FRME traded down $0.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $38.85. 174,047 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,767. The stock has a market cap of $2.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's 50-day moving average is $38.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.26. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.68 EPS. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $48.25.

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.

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