First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Update

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 523,500 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the February 28th total of 423,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 269,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FRME. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James decreased their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.20.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.08 on Wednesday, hitting $40.11. The company had a trading volume of 254,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 255,573. 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 business has a 50 day moving average of $42.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 17.2% in the fourth quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 281,626 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $11,234,000 after acquiring an additional 41,396 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,573 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,969,000 after buying an additional 21,750 shares in the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 23,771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $260,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $669,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.