First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the five brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $48.20.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FRME. Hovde Group upgraded 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. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $35.65 on Friday. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $42.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.70.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Equities research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 139.1% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 809.9% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 1,636 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 1,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.