First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $47.75.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $848,464.27. This trade represents a 13.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the third quarter valued at $2,105,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth $599,000. Vest Financial LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,297,000. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $6,109,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.8%

FRME opened at $41.13 on Thursday. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $33.13 and a 52 week high of $44.33. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $39.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 21.49%.The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.89 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.36 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.