First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

Key Points

• Consensus "Hold" rating from six analysts (four hold, two buy) with an average 1‑year target of $47.75; recent notes include Zacks downgrading to hold and Piper Sandler raising its target to $49 and an overweight rating.
• Shares trade near $36.56 with a 52‑week range of $33.13–$43.22, market cap ~$2.32B and P/E of 9.4; the company beat quarterly EPS ($0.98 vs. $0.96) and pays an annualized dividend of $1.44 (yield ~3.9%, DPR 37%).
• Insiders have recently sold stock (including a VP selling 5,000 shares and another insider selling 3,227), with insiders owning 1.37% while institutional investors own about 73.92% of the company.

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus recommendation of "Hold" by the six research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.75.

Several research firms have recently commented on FRME. Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock opened at $36.56 on Monday. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $43.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.40 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a fifty day moving average of $39.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $38.28.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares in the company, valued at $848,464.27. This represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth $2,105,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth about $599,000. Vest Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,297,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,109,000. Finally, Bailard Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 3rd quarter valued at about $754,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company's core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.

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