First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives $45.00 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) have earned an average rating of “Buy” from the four research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $45.00.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Stephens upped their target price on shares of First Merchants from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 target price (up previously from $43.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, July 29th.

First Merchants Stock Performance

FRME opened at $37.36 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $34.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.29. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $25.70 and a 1-year high of $42.44. The company has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.77 and a beta of 1.04.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by ($0.10). First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 17.77%. The business had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.35 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. On average, analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is a positive change from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.35%.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, Director Patrick J. Fehring sold 23,936 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.51, for a total transaction of $778,159.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 122,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,989,172.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its position in First Merchants by 4,586.1% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 700,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,982,000 after purchasing an additional 685,758 shares during the period. First Merchants Corp boosted its position in First Merchants by 457.3% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,370,000 after purchasing an additional 477,462 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $14,400,000. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $8,218,000. Finally, rhino investment partners Inc bought a new position in First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth about $8,572,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.