First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 423,100 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the February 13th total of 324,400 shares. Currently, 0.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 248,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in 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 lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter valued at $89,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.58. 291,119 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 240,172. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $41.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.47. The company has a market cap of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.