Piper Sandler Cuts First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target to $48.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler has reduced the price target for First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from $49.00 to $48.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating with a potential upside of 19.84% from the last closing price.
• Other analysts have also revised their ratings, with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowering their target to $49.00 and Raymond James reducing it to $46.00.
• Currently, a total of 73.92% of First Merchants' stock is held by institutional investors and hedge funds, indicating strong investor interest in the company.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $49.00 to $48.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the bank's stock. Piper Sandler's price target suggests a potential upside of 19.84% from the company's previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised First Merchants from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $46.20.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $40.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 56,899 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,037. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $38.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.43. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $33.13 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 10.37 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 21.35%. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million for 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. Analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth $46,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% during the first quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 98.4% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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