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

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in the month of 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 trading volume of 276,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FRME. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.60.

First Merchants Stock Performance

FRME traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $39.89. The stock had a trading volume of 163,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,747. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $30.55 and a 1 year high of $46.13. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $41.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.28. The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a PE ratio of 13.17 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 - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. First Merchants's payout ratio is currently 46.20%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total transaction of $316,955.04. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 92,664 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,052,196.72. This trade represents a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in First Merchants by 108.3% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 750 shares of the bank's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the second quarter worth $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in First Merchants during the third quarter valued at $89,000. 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.

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