First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $49.00.

FRME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 108.3% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.1 %

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $44.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $41.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $39.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.89 and a beta of 1.07.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Equities research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.94%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Merchants Bank that provides community banking services. The company offers a range of financial services, including time, savings, and demand deposits; and consumer, commercial, agri-business, public finance, and real estate mortgage loans.