First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 474,800 shares, a drop of 10.7% from the November 30th total of 531,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 276,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,052,196.72. This represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,176 shares of the bank’s stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 2,414 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 2.0% in the second quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 157,494 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,243,000 after acquiring an additional 3,115 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its position in First Merchants by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,433 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $880,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the period. Mesirow Institutional Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth $8,218,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

First Merchants Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FRME traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $39.89. The company had a trading volume of 163,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,747. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 and a beta of 1.05. First Merchants has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $41.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. The firm had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $42.60.

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.