First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Reaches New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• First Merchants shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday, trading as high as $44.67 and last changing hands near $44.95.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but still cautious: Piper Sandler lifted its price target to $51 and kept an overweight rating, while the broader consensus remains “Hold” with an average target price of $49.
• The bank continues to reward shareholders with a quarterly dividend raised to $0.37 per share, giving it an annualized yield of about 3.3%.

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $44.67 and last traded at $44.9470, with a volume of 30298 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $43.75.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings cut First Merchants from a "buy (b)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.85 billion, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 0.84. The business's fifty day moving average is $41.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $40.03. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.The business had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.91 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.26 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. This is an increase from First Merchants's previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.53%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 99,751 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in First Merchants by 325.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 62.1% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in First Merchants by 68.9% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 425 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Company Profile

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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