Brokerages Set First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target at $48.20

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.20.

A number of research firms have weighed in on FRME. Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 108.3% in the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,636 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank’s stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Trading Up 4.7 %

NASDAQ FRME opened at $36.91 on Friday. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a fifty day moving average of $41.44 and a 200 day moving average of $40.64.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.