First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Update

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a large decline in short interest during the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 531,400 shares, a decline of 5.8% from the November 15th total of 563,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 266,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.0 days.

First Merchants Price Performance

NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.59. The company had a trading volume of 32,747 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,625. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $30.55 and a 52-week high of $46.13. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $40.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $37.50. The company has a market capitalization of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.45 and a beta of 1.05. 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 announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is 46.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 for the company in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $42.60.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in First Merchants by 1.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,962,000 after buying an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its position in First Merchants by 123.8% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 24,174 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 13,370 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 6.1% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 211,132 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $7,854,000 after buying an additional 12,050 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in First Merchants by 10.6% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,072 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $635,000 after buying an additional 1,637 shares during the period. Finally, First Merchants Corp boosted its position in First Merchants by 457.3% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $19,370,000 after buying an additional 477,462 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.