First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Downgraded by Weiss Ratings to "Hold (C+)"

Key Points

• First Merchants has been downgraded by Weiss Ratings from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating, reflecting growing caution among analysts regarding the stock's performance.
• Raymond James and Wall Street Zen also reduced their ratings on First Merchants, suggesting a shift in sentiment towards more conservative investment strategies for the company.
• Despite recent downgrades, First Merchants has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price of $48.00, indicating some analysts still see potential in the stock.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

FRME has been the subject of a number of other reports. Raymond James Financial cut shares of First Merchants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Zacks Research raised shares of First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased 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, September 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $48.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $37.78 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 9.79 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $33.13 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $39.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $38.51.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $658,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,288 shares of the bank's stock valued at $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 10,900.5% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,231 shares of the bank's stock valued at $859,000 after purchasing an additional 21,038 shares during the period. Integrity Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $768,000. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $7,342,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

About First Merchants

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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