First Merchants (FRME) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to FRME or FMBI?

In the previous week, First Merchants had 14 more articles in the media than First Midwest Bancorp. MarketBeat recorded 14 mentions for First Merchants and 0 mentions for First Midwest Bancorp. First Merchants' average media sentiment score of 0.51 beat First Midwest Bancorp's score of 0.00 indicating that First Merchants is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Overall Sentiment
First Merchants	Positive
First Midwest Bancorp	Neutral

Which has stronger earnings and valuation, FRME or FMBI?

First Merchants has higher revenue and earnings than First Midwest Bancorp. First Merchants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than First Midwest Bancorp, 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	$999.49M	2.42	$223.79M	$3.47	11.92
First Midwest Bancorp	$789.56M	3.11	$199.56M	$1.60	13.44

Is FRME or FMBI a better dividend stock?

First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. First Midwest Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.6%. First Merchants pays out 40.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Midwest Bancorp pays out 35.0% 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.

Which has more volatility and risk, FRME or FMBI?

First Merchants has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its share price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Midwest Bancorp has a beta of 1.09, indicating that its share price is 9% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of FRME or FMBI?

73.9% of First Merchants shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 81.1% of First Midwest Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. 1.3% of First Merchants shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of First Midwest Bancorp shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FRME or FMBI?

First Midwest Bancorp received 75 more outperform votes than First Merchants when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 59.80% of users gave First Merchants an outperform vote while only 58.21% of users gave First Midwest Bancorp an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Merchants	Outperform Votes 354 59.80%	Underperform Votes 238 40.20%
First Midwest Bancorp	Outperform Votes 429 58.21%	Underperform Votes 308 41.79%

Is FRME or FMBI more profitable?

First Midwest Bancorp has a net margin of 25.27% compared to First Merchants' net margin of 17.77%. First Merchants' return on equity of 9.20% beat First Midwest Bancorp's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Merchants	17.77%	9.20%	1.09%
First Midwest Bancorp	25.27%	8.19%	0.96%

Do analysts rate FRME or FMBI?

First Merchants currently has a consensus price target of $42.50, suggesting a potential upside of 2.78%. Given First Merchants' higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe First Merchants is more favorable than First Midwest Bancorp.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Merchants	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
First Midwest Bancorp	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A

Summary

First Merchants beats First Midwest Bancorp on 12 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.