Piper Sandler Cuts First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target to $47.00

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Piper Sandler from $50.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the bank's stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on FRME. Hovde Group started coverage on First Merchants in a research note on Monday, August 12th. They set a "market perform" rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $45.00 price target on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Finally, Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $41.60.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME traded up $1.41 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $37.16. 448,696 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 251,790. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $26.85 and a 12 month high of $42.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $2.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.59 and a beta of 1.02. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $37.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.53.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $265.95 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 17.77%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Equities analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 20th. Investors of record on Friday, September 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 6th. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at $34,000. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of First Merchants by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 835 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in First Merchants by 511.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 1,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $79,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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.