First Merchants (FRME) Expected to Announce Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) is expected to release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, January 30th. Analysts expect First Merchants to post earnings of $0.90 per share and revenue of $167.84 million for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $41.37 on Wednesday. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $39.26. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.65 and a beta of 1.06. 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

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.