First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Upgraded at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a report published on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $46.00 price target on the bank’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler lowered their price target 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. 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $46.00.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $39.59 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 0.87. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $41.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $41.25. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $34.66 and a 12-month high of $45.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.28). The business had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.05% and a return on equity of 8.86%. Research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 4th were paid a $0.37 dividend. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 4th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fiduciary Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth approximately $43,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 24.9% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Hedge funds and other 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.