First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Up 18.3% in March

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 619,500 shares, an increase of 18.3% from the March 15th total of 523,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 284,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.2 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock traded down $0.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 128,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 263,073. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $30.55 and a 12-month high of $46.13. The company has a market capitalization of $2.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.39 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $39.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $40.54.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The bank reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $160.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $171.23 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 40.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Hovde Group raised First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $52.00 to $49.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $46.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $47.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 112,290 shares of the bank's stock valued at $4,176,000 after purchasing an additional 53,033 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,400,821 shares of the bank's stock valued at $52,120,000 after acquiring an additional 11,430 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank's stock worth $32,962,000 after purchasing an additional 11,521 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 67.9% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 134,136 shares of the bank's stock valued at $5,368,000 after purchasing an additional 54,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City Center Advisors LLC bought a new position in First Merchants in the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.