First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $44.10, but opened at $42.77. First Merchants shares last traded at $44.18, with a volume of 26,400 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on FRME. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $41.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $39.84. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

Insider Activity

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 65.3% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $118,000 after acquiring an additional 1,254 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 25.8% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 15,897 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $591,000 after buying an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in First Merchants by 78.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co bought a new position in First Merchants in the third quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 10.6% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank’s stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is 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.