First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Given Overweight Rating at Piper Sandler

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating restated by analysts at Piper Sandler in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $55.00 target price on the bank's stock, up from their prior target price of $52.00. Piper Sandler's target price suggests a potential upside of 24.01% from the company's current price.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on FRME. Hovde Group raised shares of First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $43.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $49.00.

First Merchants Trading Up 0.6 %

FRME stock traded up $0.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $44.35. 261,923 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,228. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. First Merchants has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $41.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $39.36.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.71 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of First Merchants 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake 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 buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 139.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,289 shares of the bank's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the third quarter valued at about $89,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 270.1% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,728 shares of the bank's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 1,991 shares in the last quarter. 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.