First Merchants Corporation (FRME) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.36 on March 20th

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.36 per share by the bank on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th.

First Merchants has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 35.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.5%.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of FRME traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $42.02. 286,784 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 357,706. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $38.70 and its 200-day moving average is $38.31. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $45.62.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 21.49%.The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.