First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Issues Earnings Results

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) released its earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28), FiscalAI reports. The firm had revenue of $202.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.02% and a net margin of 17.05%.

First Merchants Trading Up 3.3%

FRME stock traded up $1.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $43.28. 82,005 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 402,307. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $34.66 and a 52-week high of $45.33. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $41.77 and its 200-day moving average is $40.30. The company has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.87 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 43.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, Director Larry W. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total transaction of $415,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 99,751 shares in the company, valued at $4,139,666.50. The trade was a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.77% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. FJ Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in First Merchants in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $11,111,000. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 252.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 321,550 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $12,122,000 after buying an additional 230,192 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 169.3% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 261,904 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $10,031,000 after acquiring an additional 164,664 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 163.8% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 233,264 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $8,794,000 after acquiring an additional 144,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,058,247 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,663,000 after acquiring an additional 104,260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, May 17th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $49.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $49.00.

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.