First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives $46.40 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.40.

FRME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $37.03 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.83 and a beta of 0.95. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.50.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. On average, research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.33%.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Westend Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth $46,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in First Merchants by 809.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.