First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $49.00.

Several brokerages recently commented on FRME. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $40.31 on Tuesday. First Merchants has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $41.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 1.05.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

Insider Activity

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in First Merchants by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after acquiring an additional 54,265 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock worth $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 123.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock worth $899,000 after purchasing an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $607,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 55.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,133,000 after purchasing an additional 332,168 shares during the period. 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.