First Merchants (FRME) Stock Forecast, Price & News

2 Wall Street research analysts have issued "buy," "hold," and "sell" ratings for First Merchants in the last year. There are currently 2 buy ratings for the stock. The consensus among Wall Street research analysts is that investors should "buy" FRME shares.
View FRME analyst ratings or view top-rated stocks.

2 equities research analysts have issued 1-year target prices for First Merchants' stock. Their FRME share price forecasts range from $38.00 to $50.00. On average, they anticipate the company's stock price to reach $44.67 in the next year. This suggests a possible upside of 56.6% from the stock's current price.
View analysts price targets for FRME or view top-rated stocks among Wall Street analysts.

First Merchants' stock was trading at $41.11 at the start of the year. Since then, FRME shares have decreased by 30.6% and is now trading at $28.52.
View the best growth stocks for 2023 here.

The company is scheduled to release its next quarterly earnings announcement on Tuesday, July 25th 2023.
View our FRME earnings forecast.

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) posted its earnings results on Monday, October, 25th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.07. The bank had revenue of $133.22 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $132.07 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 29.37% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 13.18%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share.

First Merchants declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.34 per share on Friday, June 16th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 1st. This is an increase from the stock's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.
Read our dividend analysis for FRME.

ETFs with the largest weight of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) stock in their portfolio include First Trust NASDAQ ABA Community Bank Index Fund (QABA), ProShares Russell 2000 Dividend Growers ETF (SMDV), First Trust RBA American Industrial Renaissance ETF (AIRR), iShares US Small Cap Value Factor ETF (SVAL), Invesco DWA SmallCap Momentum ETF (DWAS), SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE), Avantis U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF (AVSC) and VictoryShares US Small Cap Volatility Wtd (CSA).

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) pays an annual dividend of $1.36 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 4.77%. FRME has a dividend yield higher than 75% of all dividend-paying stocks, making it a leading dividend payer. The company has been increasing its dividend for 12 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio is 34.26%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, FRME will have a dividend payout ratio of 35.14% next year. This indicates that the company will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.
Read our dividend analysis for FRME.

48 employees have rated First Merchants Chief Executive Officer Michael C. Rechin on Glassdoor.com. Michael C. Rechin has an approval rating of 82% among the company's employees.

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some companies that other First Merchants investors own include BankFinancial (BFIN), Energy Transfer (ET), Main Street Capital (MAIN), Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), AbbVie (ABBV), Comerica (CMA), Huntington Bancshares (HBAN), International Business Machines (IBM), Iron Mountain (IRM) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM).

First Merchants trades on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "FRME."

First Merchants' stock is owned by a variety of retail and institutional investors. Top institutional shareholders include BlackRock Inc. (7.05%), Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (4.94%), State Street Corp (2.78%), Geode Capital Management LLC (1.95%), Principal Financial Group Inc. (1.56%) and Boston Partners (1.56%). Insiders that own company stock include Charles E Schalliol, Gary Lehman, Mark K Hardwick, Michael C Marhenke, Michael R Becher, Patrick A Sherman, Patrick A Sherman, Patrick J Fehring, Stephan Fluhler and William L Hoy.
View institutional ownership trends.

Shares of FRME stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include WeBull, Vanguard Brokerage Services, TD Ameritrade, E*TRADE, Robinhood, Fidelity, and Charles Schwab.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

One share of FRME stock can currently be purchased for approximately $28.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) has a market capitalization of $1.70 billion and generates $712.95 million in revenue each year. The bank earns $222.09 million in net income (profit) each year or $3.97 on an earnings per share basis.

The company employs 2,124 workers across the globe.

First Merchants' mailing address is 200 EAST JACKSON STREET, MUNCIE IN, 47305. The official website for the company is www.firstmerchants.com. The bank can be reached via phone at (765) 747-1500, via email at nweaver@firstmerchants.com, or via fax at 765-282-6304.