First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Update

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 504,600 shares, a decline of 7.2% from the March 15th total of 543,500 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 269,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

First Merchants Stock Performance

FRME stock opened at $32.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a PE ratio of 8.68 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50 day moving average of $33.76 and a 200-day moving average of $32.80. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $24.52 and a 12-month high of $38.16.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. The firm had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $158.50 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 22.39%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.19%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 36.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $105,911.81. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $798,401.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FRME. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the first quarter valued at about $50,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

FRME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Raymond James increased their price objective on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 29th.

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.