FRME vs. WBS, CBSH, PNFP, WAL, CFR, WTFC, UMBF, ZION, BPOP, and ONB
Should you be buying First Merchants stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of First Merchants include Webster Financial (WBS), Commerce Bancshares (CBSH), Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP), Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR), Wintrust Financial (WTFC), UMB Financial (UMBF), Zions Bancorporation, National Association (ZION), Popular (BPOP), and Old National Bancorp (ONB). These companies are all part of the "regional banks" industry.
First Merchants vs.
Webster Financial (NYSE:WBS) and First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, media sentiment, community ranking, earnings and institutional ownership.
85.6% of Webster Financial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Webster Financial shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of First Merchants shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.
Webster Financial has a beta of 0.98, suggesting that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Merchants has a beta of 1.02, suggesting that its share price is 2% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Webster Financial pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.8%. Webster Financial pays out 36.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Merchants pays out 40.4% 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.
First Merchants has a net margin of 18.76% compared to Webster Financial's net margin of 18.39%. Webster Financial's return on equity of 10.82% beat First Merchants' return on equity.
Webster Financial presently has a consensus price target of $63.75, suggesting a potential upside of 24.34%. First Merchants has a consensus price target of $46.40, suggesting a potential upside of 22.59%. Given Webster Financial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Webster Financial is more favorable than First Merchants.
Webster Financial received 176 more outperform votes than First Merchants when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 60.40% of users gave First Merchants an outperform vote while only 58.91% of users gave Webster Financial an outperform vote.
In the previous week, Webster Financial had 7 more articles in the media than First Merchants. MarketBeat recorded 20 mentions for Webster Financial and 13 mentions for First Merchants. Webster Financial's average media sentiment score of 1.38 beat First Merchants' score of 1.00 indicating that Webster Financial is being referred to more favorably in the media.
Webster Financial has higher revenue and earnings than First Merchants. First Merchants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Webster Financial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
Webster Financial beats First Merchants on 15 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.
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New MarketBeat Followers Over Time
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Media Sentiment Over Time
This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.
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This page (NASDAQ:FRME) was last updated on 5/22/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff
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