First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Sets New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $45.26 and last traded at $45.14, with a volume of 2381 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $44.05.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRME has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Hovde Group started coverage on First Merchants in a research report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

First Merchants Stock Up 3.1 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $38.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $36.55. 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 company has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54 and a beta of 1.01.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. 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.