First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $46.00 According to Brokerages

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $46.00.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Stephens raised shares of First Merchants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of FRME stock opened at $39.06 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $41.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $41.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.52 and a beta of 0.87. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $45.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 17.05%. The business had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.91 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, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were given a $0.37 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 47.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth approximately $232,637,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth approximately $27,195,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,889,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $18,156,000. Finally, FJ Capital Management LLC grew its position in First Merchants by 115.0% during the fourth quarter. FJ Capital Management LLC now owns 633,668 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $23,750,000 after purchasing an additional 338,950 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME) is a financial services company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Merchants Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to individuals, families, businesses, and institutions.

Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgage lending, cash-management and treasury services, investment and trust services, and wealth-management solutions.