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

Key Points

• First Merchants has a consensus broker rating of Moderate Buy from six analysts (three Buy, three Hold) with an average 12‑month price target of $48.33.
• The bank reported quarterly EPS of $0.98, beating estimates by $0.02 with revenue of $178.36M, and analysts expect about 3.79 EPS for the current year.
• First Merchants pays a quarterly dividend of $0.36 (annualized $1.44), representing a 3.6% yield and a 37.02% payout ratio.

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) has received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $48.3333.

FRME has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME stock opened at $40.09 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.23. The company has a market capitalization of $2.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.31 and a beta of 0.88. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $34.60 and a 52-week high of $43.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total transaction of $136,469.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,063 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 27,081,812.5% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 15,165,871 shares of the bank's stock worth $568,417,000 after purchasing an additional 15,165,815 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in First Merchants by 0.3% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,815,000 after purchasing an additional 6,924 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in First Merchants by 64.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 1,346,300 shares of the bank's stock worth $50,756,000 after purchasing an additional 527,545 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC grew its holdings in First Merchants by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,058,247 shares of the bank's stock worth $39,663,000 after purchasing an additional 104,260 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 956,197 shares of the bank's stock worth $35,838,000 after purchasing an additional 8,699 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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