First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Upgraded at Hovde Group

Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note released on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $50.00 target price on the bank’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on FRME. 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 note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FRME opened at $44.44 on Friday. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. The firm has a market cap of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $41.37 and a 200 day moving average of $39.36. 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 (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. As a group, research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 108.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. KBC Group NV purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the third quarter worth approximately $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. 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.