First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Up 30.4% in February

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 423,100 shares, an increase of 30.4% from the February 13th total of 324,400 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 248,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Phocas Financial Corp. raised its holdings in First Merchants by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 281,626 shares of the bank's stock worth $11,234,000 after buying an additional 41,396 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,573 shares of the bank's stock worth $4,969,000 after acquiring an additional 21,750 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 23,771 shares of the bank's stock worth $948,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $260,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $669,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company's stock.

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First Merchants Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $40.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,578,043 shares, compared to its average volume of 245,570. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $42.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.48. The stock has a market cap of $2.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77 and a beta of 1.05. 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 has a 12 month low of $30.55 and a 12 month high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. First Merchants's dividend payout ratio is 40.94%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Hovde Group upgraded First Merchants from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Raymond James reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $50.00 target price (up previously from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price objective (up from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.00.

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.