First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $44.89 and last traded at $44.76, with a volume of 8548 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $44.46.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the topic of several research reports. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $41.60.

First Merchants Price Performance

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 firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.38 and a beta of 1.01. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $37.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.11.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The company had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in First Merchants in the second quarter worth $34,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $45,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter valued at about $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.