First Merchants (FRME) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. It also provides personal and corporate trust; brokerage and private wealth management; and letters of credit, repurchase agreements, and other corporate services. The company operates banking locations in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan counties. It also offers its services through electronic and mobile delivery channels. First Merchants Corporation was founded in 1893 and is headquartered in Muncie, Indiana.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $39.77 to $40.45
• 50-Day Range: $37.99 to $44.97
• 52-Week Range: $30.55 to $46.13
• Volume: 530,176 shs
• Average Volume: 215,388 shs
• Market Capitalization: $2.36 billion
• P/E Ratio: 13.29
• Dividend Yield: 3.48%
• Price Target: $42.60
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

First Merchants Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

First Merchants scored higher than 85% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 208th out of 955 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 1.3 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

First Merchants has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.60, and is based on 3 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

First Merchants has only been the subject of 2 research reports in the past 90 days.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 4.14%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for First Merchants are expected to grow by 4.14% in the coming year, from $3.38 to $3.52 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of First Merchants is 13.29, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 110.31.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of First Merchants is 13.29, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 24.82.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

First Merchants has a P/B Ratio of 1.08. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.98% of the outstanding shares of First Merchants have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Merchants has recently increased by 20.81%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Leadership

First Merchants is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.69%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.

Dividend Growth

First Merchants has been increasing its dividend for 13 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of First Merchants is 46.20%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, First Merchants will have a dividend payout ratio of 39.77% next year. This indicates that First Merchants will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 2.6 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.67

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.98% of the outstanding shares of First Merchants have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

First Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.1, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in First Merchants has recently increased by 20.81%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 2.3 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.07

News Sentiment

First Merchants has a news sentiment score of 1.07. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.64 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 3 news articles for First Merchants this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.

Company Ownership

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Insider Trading: Selling Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, First Merchants insiders have sold more of their company's stock than they have bought. Specifically, they have bought $0.00 in company stock and sold $316,955.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 1.40% of the stock of First Merchants is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

73.92% of the stock of First Merchants is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

FRME Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have FRME shares performed this year?

First Merchants' stock was trading at $39.89 at the start of the year. Since then, FRME stock has increased by 1.0% and is now trading at $40.27.
View the best growth stocks for 2025 here.

How were First Merchants' earnings last quarter?

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October, 24th. The bank reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.06. The bank earned $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 16.94%.

Who are First Merchants' major shareholders?

First Merchants' top institutional shareholders include Nordea Investment Management AB (0.23%), Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. (0.03%), Sentinel Pension Advisors Inc. (0.03%) and Inspire Investing LLC (0.02%). Insiders that own company stock include Patrick J Fehring, Michael J Stewart, Michael C Rechin, Patrick A Sherman, Gary Lehman, Charles E Schalliol, Stephan Fluhler and Jason R Sondhi.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of First Merchants?

Shares of FRME stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of First Merchants own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that First Merchants investors own include Tesla (TSLA), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta Platforms (META), Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Netflix (NFLX) and Visa (V).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 10/24/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 12/20 Dividend: 12/06/2024
• Dividend Payable: 12/20/2024
• Today: 1/18/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 1/30/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NASDAQ
• Sector: Finance
• Industry: National commercial banks
• Sub-Industry: Regional Banks
• Current Symbol: NASDAQ:FRME
• CUSIP: 32081710
• CIK: 712534
• Web: www.firstmerchants.com
• Phone: (765) 747-1500
• Fax: 765-282-6304
• Employees: 2,162
• Year Founded: 1982

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $42.60
• High Stock Price Target: $50.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $38.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +5.8%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.60
• Research Coverage: 5 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $3.03
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 13.29
• Forward P/E Ratio: 11.91
• P/E Growth: N/A
• Net Income: $223.79 million
• Net Margins: 16.94%
• Pretax Margin: 19.06%
• Return on Equity: 8.94%
• Return on Assets: 1.08%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.41
• Current Ratio: 0.90
• Quick Ratio: 0.89

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $999.49 million
• Price / Sales: 2.36
• Cash Flow: $4.37 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 9.21
• Book Value: $37.42 per share
• Price / Book: 1.08

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 58,670,000
• Free Float: 57,850,000
• Market Cap: $2.36 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 1.06