First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.04 by ($0.01), FiscalAI reports. The business had revenue of $163.53 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 21.49%.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, hitting $40.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 345,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 403,907. The firm has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.38 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $39.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $38.31. First Merchants has a one year low of $34.66 and a one year high of $43.22.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 6th were issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 37.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the sale, the insider owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $848,464.27. The trade was a 13.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 1.77% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in First Merchants by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,005,625 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $76,815,000 after buying an additional 6,924 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen LLC now owns 1,058,247 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $39,663,000 after buying an additional 104,260 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 956,197 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $35,838,000 after buying an additional 8,699 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in First Merchants by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 764,136 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $28,640,000 after buying an additional 96,340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in First Merchants by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 715,488 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $26,816,000 after buying an additional 93,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on FRME shares. Piper Sandler upped their target price on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $48.33.

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.