First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Shares of First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday . 143,558 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 43% from the previous session’s volume of 250,271 shares.The stock last traded at $36.40 and had previously closed at $35.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Hovde Group started 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 target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $41.60.

First Merchants Stock Up 3.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a market cap of $2.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $35.53.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants Co. will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 40.35%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the second quarter worth about $45,000. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $79,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.