First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Downgraded to "Sell" Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) has been downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Other brokerages, including Raymond James and Weiss Ratings, have also changed their ratings on First Merchants, indicating a more cautious outlook from Wall Street.
• The stock is currently trading at $35.71, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FRME. Raymond James Financial cut First Merchants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Zacks Research upgraded First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut First Merchants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $35.71 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $39.29 and a 200 day moving average of $38.31. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.The company had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.68 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank's stock worth $76,815,000 after acquiring an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 2.5% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,127,423 shares of the bank's stock worth $43,180,000 after buying an additional 27,965 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP increased its position in First Merchants by 2.0% during the second quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 760,551 shares of the bank's stock worth $29,129,000 after buying an additional 15,143 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the first quarter worth approximately $24,523,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in First Merchants by 1.0% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 472,974 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,127,000 after buying an additional 4,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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