First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 523,500 shares, an increase of 23.7% from the February 28th total of 423,100 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 269,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.

First Merchants Trading Down 1.0 %

NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.40 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.05. 35,373 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 265,717. The firm has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.05. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $42.23 and a two-hundred day moving average of $40.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.89. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13.

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

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.50%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FRME has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $49.00.

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.