First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $45.26 and last traded at $45.14, with a volume of 2381 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.05.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Hovde Group started coverage on First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.60.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.5 %

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $39.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $36.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.62 and a beta of 1.01. 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 (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. First Merchants Corp lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 457.3% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,370,000 after purchasing an additional 477,462 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at $8,218,000. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 93.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 424,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,778,000 after buying an additional 204,736 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in First Merchants by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,475,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,682,000 after buying an additional 180,323 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the third quarter valued at about $4,577,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.