First Merchants (FRME) Competitors

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

Which has more volatility & risk, FRME or BANR?

First Merchants has a beta of 1.05, meaning that its stock price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Banner has a beta of 0.91, meaning that its stock price is 9% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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 3.8%. 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 increased 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.

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 higher valuation and earnings, 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	2.05	$201.40M	$3.86	9.86
Banner	$832.99M	2.62	$168.90M	$5.25	12.02

Do analysts rate FRME or BANR?

First Merchants presently has a consensus price target of $48.00, indicating a potential upside of 26.15%. Banner has a consensus price target of $70.17, indicating a potential upside of 11.22%. 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)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.86
Banner	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Do institutionals & insiders believe in FRME or BANR?

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

Does the media prefer FRME or BANR?

In the previous week, First Merchants had 4 more articles in the media than Banner. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for First Merchants and 4 mentions for Banner. Banner's average media sentiment score of 1.45 beat First Merchants' score of 0.37 indicating that Banner is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

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

Summary

First Merchants beats Banner on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.