First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in 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 trading volume of 266,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the last quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in First Merchants by 60.6% during the 2nd quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,552 shares of the bank's stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the last quarter. Security Financial Services INC. acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the second quarter worth $230,000. First Merchants Corp lifted its stake in First Merchants by 457.3% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 22.4% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,176 shares of the bank's stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 2,414 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Down 2.4 %

FRME traded down $1.03 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $42.74. The company had a trading volume of 397,317 shares, compared to its average volume of 256,199. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $30.55 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34 and a beta of 1.05. The business has a 50-day moving average of $40.93 and a 200-day moving average of $37.58.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.20%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $42.60.

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.