Short Interest in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Decreases By 20.1%

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 324,400 shares, a decline of 20.1% from the January 31st total of 405,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 233,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $89,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Stock Down 2.9 %

NASDAQ FRME traded down $1.25 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.50. The stock had a trading volume of 338,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 234,962. The company has a market capitalization of $2.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $41.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.94%.

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.