Top MarketRank™ StocksTop MarketRank™NASDAQ:FRME First Merchants (FRME) Stock Price, News & Analysis $35.73 +0.21 (+0.59%) (As of 10/3/2024 ET) Add Compare Share Share Stock Analysis Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrends About First Merchants Stock (NASDAQ:FRME) 30 days 90 days 365 days Advanced Chart View Price History Chart DataSkip Price History Chart Get First Merchants alerts:Sign Up Key Stats Today's Range$35.16▼$35.8250-Day Range$35.18▼$41.3552-Week Range$25.70▼$42.44Volume166,753 shsAverage Volume250,864 shsMarket Capitalization$2.09 billionP/E Ratio10.30Dividend Yield3.92%Price Target$42.20Consensus RatingModerate Buy Company OverviewFirst 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.Read More… The death of Nvidia? (Ad)Today, I’m warning of another looming catastrophe. Only this time, it’s not in pot stocks, cryptos, or U.S. housing… it's in artificial intelligence. And unless you know what’s really going on in this sector, you could be wiped out. 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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 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 Valuation3.1 / 5Proj. Earnings Growth8.51% Earnings GrowthEarnings for First Merchants are expected to grow by 8.51% in the coming year, from $3.29 to $3.57 per share.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the MarketThe P/E ratio of First Merchants is 10.30, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 129.64.Price to Earnings Ratio vs. SectorThe P/E ratio of First Merchants is 10.30, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Finance sector average P/E ratio of about 38.51.Price to Book Value per Share RatioFirst Merchants has a P/B Ratio of 0.95. P/B Ratios below 1 indicate that a company could be undervalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.Read more about First Merchants' valuation and earnings. Short Interest5.0 / 5Short Interest LevelHealthy Percentage of Shares Shorted1.23% of the outstanding shares of First Merchants have been sold short.Short Interest Ratio / Days to CoverFirst Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.Change versus previous monthShort interest in First Merchants has recently decreased by 13.34%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly. Dividend5.0 / 5Dividend StrengthStrong Dividend LeadershipFirst Merchants is a leading dividend payer. It pays a dividend yield of 3.81%, 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 40.35%. 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 39.22% next year. This indicates that First Merchants will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.Read more about First Merchants' dividend. Sustainability and ESG2.7 / 5Environmental Score-0.61 Percentage of Shares Shorted1.23% of the outstanding shares of First Merchants have been sold short.Short Interest Ratio / Days to CoverFirst Merchants has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 2.8, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.Change versus previous monthShort interest in First Merchants has recently decreased by 13.34%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly. News and Social Media3.1 / 5News Sentiment1.49 News SentimentFirst Merchants has a news sentiment score of 1.49. 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 0.71 average news sentiment score of Finance companies.News Coverage This WeekMarketBeat has tracked 2 news articles for First Merchants this week, compared to 2 articles on an average week.Search Interest1 people have searched for FRME on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. Company Ownership1.7 / 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 InsidersOnly 1.32% 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. Email Address FRME Stock News HeadlinesFirst Merchants Corporation to Report Third Quarter 2024 Financial Results, Host Conference Call and WebcastOctober 3 at 10:00 AM | globenewswire.comFirst Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) shareholders have earned a 42% return over the last yearSeptember 23, 2024 | finance.yahoo.comAI Expert Reveals New PickEveryone’s talking about AI right now, but I’ve been talking about it for years. And now I’ve just released my latest prediction and believe it or not, I’m advising NOT pour all your money into Nvidia right nowOctober 3, 2024 | Brownstone Research (Ad)First Merchants Earns New Award: TIME Magazine’s “America’s Best Mid-Sized Company”September 18, 2024 | markets.businessinsider.comFirst Merchants Earns New Award: TIME Magazine's “America's Best Mid-Sized Company”September 17, 2024 | globenewswire.comFirst Merchants Corp (FRME) Trading Down 3.68% on Sep 11September 11, 2024 | gurufocus.comRegional lender First Busey to buy CrossFirst in latest consolidationAugust 27, 2024 | investing.comOld Second Bancorp, Inc. and First Merchants Corporation Announce Transaction Involving Chicagoland Branch OperationsAugust 27, 2024 | globenewswire.comSee More Headlines FRME Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions How have FRME shares performed this year? First Merchants' stock was trading at $37.08 at the beginning of the year. Since then, FRME stock has decreased by 3.6% and is now trading at $35.73. View the best growth stocks for 2024 here. How were First Merchants' earnings last quarter? First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July, 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.10. The bank had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $156.35 million. First Merchants had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 17.77%. Who are First Merchants' major shareholders? First Merchants' top institutional shareholders include SG Americas Securities 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 BankFinancial (BFIN), Energy Transfer (ET), Main Street Capital (MAIN), Enterprise Products Partners (EPD), AbbVie (ABBV), Comerica (CMA) and Huntington Bancshares (HBAN). Company Calendar Last Earnings7/25/2024Ex-Dividend for 9/20 Dividend9/06/2024Dividend Payable9/20/2024Today10/03/2024Next Earnings (Estimated)10/24/2024Fiscal Year End12/31/2024Get Stock AlertsIndustry, Sector and Symbol Stock ExchangeNASDAQ SectorFinance Industry National commercial banks Sub-IndustryRegional Banks Current SymbolNASDAQ:FRME CUSIP32081710 CIK712534 Webwww.firstmerchants.com Phone(765) 747-1500Fax765-282-6304Employees2,162Year Founded1982Price Target and Rating Average Stock Price Target$42.20 High Stock Price Target$50.00 Low Stock Price Target$38.00 Potential Upside/Downside+18.1%Consensus RatingModerate Buy Rating Score (0-4)2.60 Research Coverage5 Analysts Profitability EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year)$3.47 Trailing P/E Ratio10.30 Forward P/E Ratio10.86 P/E GrowthN/ANet Income$223.79 million Net Margins17.77% Pretax Margin20.09% Return on Equity9.17% Return on Assets1.09% Debt Debt-to-Equity Ratio0.42 Current Ratio0.87 Quick Ratio0.86 Sales & Book Value Annual Sales$631.34 million Price / Sales3.32 Cash Flow$3.93 per share Price / Cash Flow9.10 Book Value$37.42 per share Price / Book0.95Miscellaneous Outstanding Shares58,585,000Free Float57,812,000Market Cap$2.09 billion OptionableOptionable Beta1.02 Social Links 12 Stocks Corporate Insiders are AbandoningIf a company's CEO, COO, and CFO were all selling shares of their stock, would you want to know?Get This Free Report This page (NASDAQ:FRME) was last updated on 10/3/2024 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersThe world’s smartest man is in their crosshairsElon Musk is one of mankind’s greatest innovators. 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