First Merchants’ (FRME) “Outperform” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James

Raymond James reaffirmed their outperform rating on shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $50.00 target price on the bank’s stock, up from their prior target price of $42.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FRME. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Up 4.1 %

First Merchants stock opened at $44.44 on Friday. 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 has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.37 and its 200 day moving average is $39.36. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.06.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly 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, sell-side analysts predict 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 46.20%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 7.9% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 7,074 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $233,000 after acquiring an additional 519 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 138,446 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,609,000 after buying an additional 1,424 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in First Merchants by 25.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 84,291 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 16,899 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 12.0% in the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 12,635 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.