First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Raymond James Financial lowered First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of First Merchants stock opened at $37.98 on Thursday. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $33.13 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $39.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.55. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 19th. Investors of record on Friday, September 5th were paid a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 5th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $50,000. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 6,489 shares of the bank’s stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 639 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in First Merchants by 26.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 36,065 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,381,000 after buying an additional 7,491 shares during the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its stake in First Merchants by 10.3% during the 2nd quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 10,182 shares of the bank’s stock worth $390,000 after buying an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its position in First Merchants by 178.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 9,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 6,275 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.