First Merchants (FRME) Competitors

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) and Banner (NASDAQ:BANR) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their valuation, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, dividends and earnings.

Is FRME or BANR a better dividend stock?

First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Banner pays an annual dividend of $1.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.0%. First Merchants pays out 37.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Banner pays out 36.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. First Merchants has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. First Merchants is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer FRME or BANR?

First Merchants currently has a consensus target price of $48.25, suggesting a potential upside of 22.31%. Banner has a consensus target price of $70.17, suggesting a potential upside of 8.30%. Given First Merchants' stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Merchants is more favorable than Banner.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Merchants	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Banner	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Which has more risk and volatility, FRME or BANR?

First Merchants has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banner has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is FRME or BANR more profitable?

First Merchants has a net margin of 21.35% compared to Banner's net margin of 21.15%. Banner's return on equity of 10.06% beat First Merchants' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Merchants	21.35%	9.88%	1.23%
Banner	21.15%	10.06%	1.13%

Which has stronger earnings & valuation, FRME or BANR?

First Merchants has higher revenue and earnings than Banner. First Merchants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Banner, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Merchants	$1.07B	2.12	$201.40M	$3.86	10.22
Banner	$832.99M	2.69	$168.90M	$5.25	12.34

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of FRME or BANR?

73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.3% of Banner shares are held by institutional investors. 1.4% of First Merchants shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 1.6% of Banner shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the media favor FRME or BANR?

In the previous week, First Merchants and First Merchants both had 7 articles in the media. First Merchants' average media sentiment score of 1.75 beat Banner's score of 0.62 indicating that First Merchants is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Merchants	6 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive
Banner	3 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Summary

First Merchants beats Banner on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.