First Merchants’ (FRME) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Raymond James

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at Raymond James in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 price target on the bank’s stock, up from their prior price target of $42.00. Raymond James’ price target points to a potential upside of 11.25% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.60.

First Merchants Trading Up 5.2 %

First Merchants stock traded up $2.24 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $44.95. 131,632 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 213,499. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.83 and a beta of 1.06. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.37 and its 200-day moving average is $39.28. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $30.55 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. On average, analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.