First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $42.60.

Several research firms recently issued reports on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $40.27 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.06. 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 has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year high of $46.13. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $41.84 and its 200 day moving average is $38.92.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 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 business posted $0.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants 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 sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during the third 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 bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position 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 valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter valued at approximately $89,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently 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.