First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Up 20.8% in December

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 573,600 shares, an increase of 20.8% from the December 15th total of 474,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 271,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FRME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during 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 period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock opened at $40.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.06. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.84 and its 200-day moving average is $38.88.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

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.