Wall Street Zen Upgrades First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a "sell" to a "hold" rating, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• First Merchants has a current average target price of $48.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts.
• Significant recent investor activity includes EverSource Wealth Advisors increasing their position in First Merchants by 361.7% during the second quarter.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Sunday.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $46.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Zacks Research upgraded First Merchants from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered First Merchants from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $48.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $36.18 on Friday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of 9.37 and a beta of 1.05. The business's 50-day moving average price is $39.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.43. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $170.52 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $46,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 1st quarter worth approximately $56,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank's stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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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