First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $37.36, but opened at $36.25. First Merchants shares last traded at $35.78, with a volume of 13,505 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FRME has been the subject of a number of research reports. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens downgraded shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.20.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average is $37.22 and its 200 day moving average is $35.50. The company has a market cap of $2.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.30 and a beta of 1.02.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.95 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 17.77%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Research analysts predict that First Merchants Co. will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,571,539 shares of the bank’s stock worth $243,673,000 after purchasing an additional 32,126 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 5.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,475,053 shares of the bank’s stock worth $115,682,000 after buying an additional 180,323 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 2.9% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,694,006 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $89,683,000 after buying an additional 75,677 shares during the last quarter. First Merchants Corp lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 457.3% in the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,370,000 after buying an additional 477,462 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $8,218,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.