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

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 523,500 shares, a growth of 23.7% from the February 28th total of 423,100 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 269,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME stock traded down $3.58 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $36.53. The stock had a trading volume of 405,885 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,565. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 10.68 and a beta of 1.05. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $40.71. First Merchants has a twelve month low of $30.55 and a twelve month high of $46.13. 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 (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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, equities analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

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First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is currently 40.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the third quarter valued at about $396,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 722,148 shares of the bank's stock worth $26,864,000 after purchasing an additional 5,367 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 2,420.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 78,194 shares of the bank's stock worth $2,909,000 after purchasing an additional 75,092 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its stake in First Merchants by 181.4% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 7,155 shares of the bank's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 4,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 41.1% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 16,772 shares of the bank's stock worth $624,000 after buying an additional 4,888 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Hovde Group raised shares of 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. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James cut their price objective on First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, First Merchants has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $48.20.

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.