NASDAQ:FRME First Merchants (FRME) Stock Price, News & Analysis $40.68 -0.15 (-0.37%) Closing price 10/23/2026 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$40.85 +0.17 (+0.41%) As of 10/23/2026 07:56 PM Eastern Extended trading is trading that happens on electronic markets outside of regular trading hours. This is a fair market value extended hours price provided by Massive. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Stock Analysis Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsInsider TradesNews and TrendsOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort Interest About First Merchants Stock (NASDAQ:FRME) View Price History Chart DataSkip Price History Chart 1 Day 5 Days 30 Days 90 Days 1 Year Advanced 1 Day 1 Day 5 Days 30 Days 90 Days 1 Year Advanced Show volume Show extended hours Get First Merchants alerts:Sign Up Key Stats Today's Range$40.39▼$41.0350-Day Range$38.78▼$43.5252-Week Range$34.66▼$45.33Volume417,114 shsAverage Volume480,699 shsMarket Capitalization$2.55 billionP/E Ratio12.59Dividend Yield3.64%Price Target$46.00Consensus RatingModerate Buy Company Overview First Merchants Corporation is a financial services holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Merchants Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions. First Merchants Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash-management solutions, online and mobile banking, investment management and trust services. The company also provides wealth-management and insurance-related services through affiliated operations. Founded in 1893, First Merchants has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions and serves customers across Indiana, Ohio and Michigan. The company is led by Mark K. Hardwick, who serves as president and chief executive officer.AI Generated. May Contain Errors. Read More First Merchants Stock Analysis - MarketRank™See Top-Rated MarketRank™ Stocks95th Percentile Overall ScoreFRME MarketRank™: 4.74852467811 of 5 starsFirst Merchants scored higher than 95% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 83rd out of 850 stocks in the finance sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation. Analyst's Opinion3.1 / 5Analyst RatingModerate Buy Consensus RatingFirst Merchants has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.60, and is based on no strong buy ratings, 3 buy ratings, 2 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.Upside PotentialFirst Merchants has a consensus price target of $46.00, representing about 13.1% upside from its current price of $40.68.Amount of Analyst CoverageFirst Merchants has only been the subject of 4 research reports in the past 90 days.Read more about First Merchants' stock forecast and price target. Earnings and Valuation3.8 / 5Proj. Earnings Growth16.10% Earnings GrowthEarnings for First Merchants are expected to grow by 16.10% in the coming year, from $3.85 to $4.47 per share.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the MarketThe P/E ratio of First Merchants is 12.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 44.37.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. SectorThe P/E ratio of First Merchants is 12.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 25.19.Price to Book Value per Share RatioFirst Merchants has a P/B Ratio of 0.96. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities. Short Interest2.0 / 5Short Interest LevelBearish Percentage of Shares Shorted3.92% of the float of First Merchants has been sold short.Short Interest Ratio / Days to CoverFirst Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 4.15.Change versus previous monthShort interest in First Merchants has recently increased by 2.09%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing. Dividend5.0 / 5Dividend StrengthStrong Dividend LeadershipFirst Merchants is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.62%, putting its dividend yield in the top 25% of dividend-paying stocks.Dividend GrowthFirst Merchants has been increasing its dividend for 13 years.Dividend CoverageThe dividend payout ratio of First Merchants is 45.82%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.Dividend SustainabilityBased on earnings estimates, First Merchants will have a dividend payout ratio of 33.11% next year. This indicates that First Merchants will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.Read more about First Merchants' dividend. News and Social Media2.8 / 5News Sentiment0.55 News SentimentFirst Merchants has a news sentiment score of 0.55. 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 news sentiment score is similar to the average news sentiment of Finance companies.News Coverage This WeekMarketBeat has tracked 13 news articles for First Merchants this week, compared to 3 articles on an average week.MarketBeat Follows1 people have added First Merchants to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. Company Ownership0.8 / 5Insider TradingN/A Insider Buying vs. Insider SellingIn the past three months, First Merchants insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.Percentage Held by Insiders1.77% of the stock of First Merchants is held by insiders.Percentage Held by Institutions73.92% of the stock of First Merchants is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.Read more about First Merchants' insider trading history. Receive FRME Stock News and Ratings via Email Sign-up to receive the latest news and ratings for First Merchants and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Submit View SMS TermsSMS is currently available in Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. By entering your phone number and clicking the sign-up button, you agree to receive periodic text messages from MarketBeat at the phone number you submitted, including texts that may be sent using an automatic telephone dialing system. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency will vary. Messages will consist of stock alerts, news stories, and partner advertisements/offers. Consent is not a condition of the purchase of any goods or services. Text HELP for help/customer support. Unsubscribe at any time by replying "STOP" to any text message that you receive from MarketBeat or by visiting our mailing preferences page. Read our full terms of service and privacy policy. FRME Stock News HeadlinesFirst Merchants Earnings Call Signals Solid GrowthOctober 23 at 8:31 PM | tipranks.comFRME Q3 deep dive: margin expansion and disciplined growth drive solid quarterOctober 23 at 8:04 AM | msn.comEarth's biggest energy source: near Grand CanyonThe largest energy source on Earth contains 50,000 times every oil and gas reserve on the planet combined - and much of it sits beneath the desert near the Grand Canyon. A drilling crew just hit the DOE's 2035 targets twelve years early, with costs down 50% in 18 months. Google signed on, Gates invested, and the Pentagon made it a priority. One company has been quietly building this infrastructure for sixty years.October 25 at 1:00 AM | Behind the Markets (Ad)First Merchants Corporation Reports Earnings Results for the Third Quarter and Nine Months Ended September 30, 2026October 22 at 11:20 PM | marketscreener.comMFirst Merchants anticipates 8%-10% client-fee growth in 2027 as it targets stable Q4 marginOctober 22 at 11:20 PM | seekingalpha.comFirst Merchants (FRME) Q3 2026 Earnings Call TranscriptOctober 22 at 11:20 PM | finance.yahoo.comFirst Merchants Corporation (FRME) Q3 2026 Earnings Call TranscriptOctober 22 at 7:00 PM | seekingalpha.comFirst Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) misses Q3 2026 revenue estimatesOctober 21, 2026 | finance.yahoo.comSee More Headlines FRME Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions How have FRME shares performed this year? First Merchants' stock was trading at $37.48 on January 1st, 2026. Since then, FRME stock has increased by 8.5% and is now trading at $40.68. How were First Merchants' earnings last quarter? First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October, 21st. The bank reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. The bank had revenue of $205.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $203.94 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 17.56% and a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.14%. Read the conference call transcript. Who are First Merchants' major shareholders? Top institutional investors of First Merchants include First Merchants Corp (0.82%), Quadrant Capital Group LLC (0.03%), Contravisory Investment Management Inc. (0.01%) and Park National Corp OH (0.01%). Insiders that own company stock include Patrick J Fehring, Larry W Myers, Michael J Stewart, Michael C Rechin, Howard Halderman, Stephan Fluhler and Eva D Scurlock. 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. 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 Main Street Capital (MAIN), Dean Foods (DFODQ), BankFinancial (BFIN), Capital City Bank Group (CCBG), AbbVie (ABBV), BlackRock (BLK) and Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY). Company Calendar Record date for 9/18 Dividend9/04/2026Ex-Dividend for 9/18 Dividend9/04/2026Dividend Payable9/18/2026Last Earnings10/21/2026Today10/25/2026Fiscal Year End12/31/2026Get Stock Alerts Health Indicator TradeSmith's Health IndicatorA long-term volatility-based measure designed for securities held 12 months or longer.Green: Strong and healthy uptrend with normal pullbacks.Yellow: Significant pullback but still within expected volatility.Red: Dropped beyond expected volatility; considered unhealthy. Green Zone (1w+) 1-Year History Oct 25 Jan 26 Apr 26 Jul 26 Oct 26 For the last 10 days, FRME's financial health has been in the Green zone, according to TradeSmith. Industry, Sector and Symbol Stock ExchangeNASDAQ SectorFinance Industry Banks Sub-IndustryRegional Banks Current SymbolNASDAQ:FRME CIK712534 Webwww.firstmerchants.com Phone(765) 747-1500Fax765-282-6304Employees2,086Year Founded1982Price Target and Rating Average Price Target for First Merchants$46.00 High Price Target$46.00 Low Price Target$46.00 Potential Upside/Downside+13.1%Consensus RatingModerate Buy Rating Score (0-4)2.60 Research Coverage5 Analysts Profitability EPS (Trailing Twelve Months)$3.23 Trailing P/E Ratio12.59 Forward P/E Ratio10.57 P/E GrowthN/ANet Income$226 million Net Margins17.56% Pretax Margin18.85% Return on Equity9.14% Return on Assets1.15% Debt Debt-to-Equity Ratio0.56 Current Ratio0.95 Quick Ratio0.95 Sales & Book Value Annual Sales$724.47 million Price / Sales3.53 Cash Flow$4.43 per share Price / Cash Flow9.19 Book Value$42.22 per share Price / Book0.96Miscellaneous Outstanding Shares62,801,000Free Float61,689,000Market Cap$2.55 billion OptionableOptionable Beta0.87 Social Links Forget Nvidia, Meta, and Google. Here's The New Magnificent Seven.Discover the next wave of investment opportunities with our report, 7 Stocks That Will Be Magnificent in 2026. Explore companies poised to replicate the growth, innovation, and value creation of the tech giants dominating today's markets.Get This Free Report This page (NASDAQ:FRME) was last updated on 10/23/2026 by MarketBeat.com Staff. From Our PartnersWhy tech stocks are deadAI skeptics see dot-com era warning signs, and they have a point. But the real opportunity may not be in the b...Porter & Company | Sponsored$0. Later: $29.97.Bill Poulos is giving away his Simple Options Trading For Beginners book through a temporary link. Once that l...Profits Run | SponsoredThe $100 Stock Behind Elon's Next MoveA small, publicly traded supplier trading under $100 a share has reportedly worked alongside Elon Musk for mor...Paradigm Press | SponsoredEarth's biggest energy source: near Grand CanyonThe largest energy source on Earth contains 50,000 times every oil and gas reserve on the planet combined - an...Behind the Markets | SponsoredHe turned $12K into $1.65M without touching Apple or TeslaTim Sykes turned $12,415 in gift money into more than $1.65 million before graduating college, without trading...Tim Sykes | SponsoredBank of America: 'Digital Dollar Inevitable'Bank of America just revealed your expiration date. In their Bloomberg interview, they didn't just predict the...Decentralized Masters | SponsoredHere’s Why Trump Won’t End The Iran WarTrump has called an Iran deal close 38 times since the war began, yet the fighting keeps flaring back up. O...Banyan Hill Publishing | SponsoredFinancial legend: “This is bad, really bad...”Dr. Martin D. Weiss has publicly predicted six major American market crashes over his 55-year career, each war...Weiss Ratings | Sponsored Adding Choose a watchlist: Watchlist Adding You have already added ten stocks to your watchlist. Upgrade to MarketBeat All Access to add more stocks to your watchlist. Adding First Merchants Corporation Please log in to your account or sign up in order to add this asset to your watchlist. Share First Merchants With A Colleague Link copied to clipboard. Unlock superior investment research and tools. Sign up for MarketBeat All Access to gain access to MarketBeat's full suite of research tools and reports. Get MarketBeat All Access MarketBeat All Access Features Best-in-Class Portfolio Monitoring Get personalized stock ideas. Compare portfolio to indices. Check stock news, ratings, SEC filings, and more. Stock Ideas and Recommendations See daily stock ideas from top analysts. Receive short-term trading ideas from MarketBeat. Identify trending stocks on social media. Advanced Stock Screeners and Research Tools Use our seven stock screeners to find suitable stocks. Stay informed with MarketBeat's real-time news. Export data to Excel for personal analysis. Sign in to your free account to enjoy these benefits In-depth profiles and analysis for 20,000 public companies. Real-time analyst ratings, insider transactions, earnings data, and more. Our daily ratings and market update email newsletter. Sign in to your free account to enjoy all that MarketBeat has to offer. Sign In Create Account Your Email Address: Email Address Required Your Password: Password Required Log In Email Me a Login Link or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google Forgot your password? Your Email Address: Please enter your email address. Please enter a valid email address Choose a Password: Please enter your password. Your password must be at least 8 characters long and contain at least 1 number, 1 letter, and 1 special character. Create My Account (Free) or Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Google By creating a free account, you agree to our terms of service. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
