First Merchants (FRME) Projected to Post Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) will likely be announcing its Q2 2025 earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, July 24th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.94 per share and revenue of $172.13 million for the quarter.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 9.28%. The company had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $171.23 million. On average, analysts expect First Merchants to post $4 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $40.43 on Thursday. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $33.13 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $38.32 and a 200-day moving average of $39.36.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were issued a dividend of $0.36 per share. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.45%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,370,000 after purchasing an additional 8,212 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 42.6% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 43,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 19,375 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 941.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after buying an additional 97,504 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reduced 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.40.

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.