First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $34.85 and last traded at $35.64, with a volume of 362302 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $35.91.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $46.40.

First Merchants Trading Up 3.1 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $38.47 and a 200-day moving average of $40.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. The business had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 39.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 8.6% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 121,969 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,866,000 after acquiring an additional 9,679 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank's stock worth $5,368,000 after buying an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $607,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank's stock valued at $37,133,000 after buying an additional 332,168 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 27.9% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 3,052 shares of the bank's stock worth $122,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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.