Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its target price increased by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $49.00 to $50.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the bank’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 30.82% from the stock’s current price.

Separately, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.50.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $38.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. First Merchants has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $46.13. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $39.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a PE ratio of 9.90 and a beta of 1.10.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.94 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.35% and a return on equity of 9.88%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.68 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Waterfront Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 1.0% in the second quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 27,412 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. EJF Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. EJF Capital LLC now owns 11,884 shares of the bank’s stock worth $455,000 after buying an additional 303 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 23,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 0.9% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 41,288 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,670,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in First Merchants by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 54,058 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 417 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.