Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $46.40.
FRME has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on First Merchants from $55.00 to $49.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial cut their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on First Merchants
First Merchants Stock Performance
First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $160.32 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 19.63% and a return on equity of 9.28%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
First Merchants Increases Dividend
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 6th were given a dividend of $0.36 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 6th. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.45%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PL Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 3,889.0% in the 4th quarter. PL Capital Advisors LLC now owns 27,377,823 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,092,101,000 after purchasing an additional 26,691,490 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at $24,523,000. Capital International Investors purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $23,739,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,014,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in First Merchants by 55.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 930,896 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,133,000 after buying an additional 332,168 shares during the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by 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.
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