First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Reaches New 52-Week High - Should You Buy?

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $44.89 and last traded at $44.76, with a volume of 8548 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.46.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on FRME. Piper Sandler cut their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Hovde Group initiated coverage on First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They issued a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.60.

First Merchants Stock Performance

The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $37.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of 14.75 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 company earned $0.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that First Merchants Co. will post 3.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.20%.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in First Merchants by 5.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,475,053 shares of the bank's stock worth $115,682,000 after purchasing an additional 180,323 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,694,006 shares of the bank's stock valued at $89,683,000 after acquiring an additional 75,677 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in First Merchants by 1.3% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 886,088 shares of the bank's stock valued at $32,962,000 after acquiring an additional 11,521 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in First Merchants by 0.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, First Merchants Corp lifted its stake in First Merchants by 457.3% during the second quarter. First Merchants Corp now owns 581,863 shares of the bank's stock worth $19,370,000 after purchasing an additional 477,462 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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