First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock Crosses Above 200-Day Moving Average – Here’s Why

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) shares passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Thursday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $39.06 and traded as high as $40.21. First Merchants shares last traded at $40.10, with a volume of 291,201 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, May 17th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $48.33.

First Merchants Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $39.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.06. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $163.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 42.35%.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 19.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,650 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after purchasing an additional 19,375 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in First Merchants by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,785 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,370,000 after purchasing an additional 8,212 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 941.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 97,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 42.6% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 43,260 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.