First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Upgraded to "Strong-Buy" at Zacks Research

Key Points

• First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Zacks Research, indicating a significant positive outlook for the stock.
• Investment analysts' ratings are mixed, with one strong buy, four buys, two holds, and a consensus price target of $48.00.
• The company reported earnings per share of $0.98 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations, with a return on equity of 9.88%.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. 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. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, September 29th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price 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. Raymond James Financial cut First Merchants from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.00.

First Merchants Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $37.98 on Thursday. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $33.13 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $39.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $38.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.The business had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $172.13 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank's stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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