Short Interest in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Drops By 20.1%

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 324,400 shares, a decline of 20.1% from the January 31st total of 405,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 233,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on FRME. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $49.00.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, President Michael J. Stewart sold 7,248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.73, for a total value of $316,955.04. Following the transaction, the president now owns 92,664 shares in the company, valued at $4,052,196.72. The trade was a 7.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 139.1% during 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 during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in First Merchants by 809.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,838 shares of the bank's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 1,636 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company's stock.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of FRME traded down $0.73 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $41.31. 220,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,479. The company has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.05. The firm's 50 day moving average is $41.93 and its 200-day moving average is $40.35. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $30.55 and a 52 week high of $46.13. 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 (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.39%. First Merchants's payout ratio is 40.94%.

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.