First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) to Issue $0.36 Quarterly Dividend

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.36 per share by the bank on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th.

First Merchants has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 35.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.5%.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.7%

FRME traded up $0.28 on Wednesday, hitting $42.07. The company had a trading volume of 231,652 shares, compared to its average volume of 356,277. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $38.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.31. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $33.13 and a 12-month high of $45.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.81 and a beta of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.68%. The business had revenue of $178.36 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. Analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.