First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives $41.60 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $41.60.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on FRME shares. Stephens downgraded First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 78.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the second quarter worth approximately $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $42.94 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.17 and a beta of 1.01. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $28.16 and a fifty-two week high of $43.51. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.