First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Upgraded by Hovde Group to “Outperform” Rating

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 Ratings reports. Hovde Group currently has $50.00 price objective on the bank’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.00.

First Merchants Stock Performance

FRME stock opened at $44.44 on Friday. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $39.35.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.38 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio 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 completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 93.3% during 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. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,577,000. Systematic Financial Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 15.8% during the third quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP now owns 682,675 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,396,000 after purchasing an additional 93,319 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 2,420.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 78,194 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 75,092 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,368,000 after buying an additional 54,265 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.