First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Down 20.2% in December

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 911,365 shares, a decrease of 20.2% from the December 15th total of 1,142,561 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 280,994 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Based on an average trading volume of 280,994 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, September 29th. Raymond James Financial lowered shares of First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.41 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $37.67. The stock had a trading volume of 233,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 252,248. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $37.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Merchants has a one year low of $33.13 and a one year high of $45.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.93.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $172.35 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $172.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 9.82%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th were issued a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.00%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. BridgePort Financial Solutions LLC now owns 58,107 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,178,000 after buying an additional 2,281 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 29,256 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,097,000 after buying an additional 573 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 66.6% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 50,226 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,882,000 after buying an additional 20,070 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,679 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $524,000 after buying an additional 857 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.