First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from five brokerages, with an average one-year price target of $48.00.
• Institutional investors currently own 73.92% of First Merchants' stock, highlighting significant institutional interest in the company.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.36 per share, yielding 3.8% annually, with a payout ratio of 37.31%.

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the five ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $48.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on FRME. Raymond James Financial downgraded shares of First Merchants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter valued at $24,523,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 842.5% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 334,593 shares of the bank's stock valued at $13,531,000 after purchasing an additional 299,092 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 1,034.4% in the first quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 202,055 shares of the bank's stock worth $8,171,000 after acquiring an additional 184,243 shares during the period. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the first quarter worth about $7,342,000. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in First Merchants by 169.3% in the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 261,904 shares of the bank's stock worth $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 164,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME traded down $0.38 on Monday, reaching $37.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 25,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,198. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.81 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $39.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.63. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $33.13 and a 12-month high of $46.13.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.88%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 5th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. First Merchants's payout ratio is 37.31%.

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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