First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) was downgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Raymond James Financial downgraded First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $46.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, September 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $47.60.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $36.79 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $36.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $38.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.96. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $33.13 and a 12-month high of $45.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted 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 business had revenue of $172.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 22.04%.During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 361.7% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $50,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 3rd quarter worth about $64,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 98.4% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 3rd quarter worth about $92,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.