First Merchants (FRME) Competitors $35.53 +0.07 (+0.20%) Closing price 04/17/2025 04:00 PM EasternExtended Trading$35.53 0.00 (0.00%) As of 04/17/2025 04:20 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 Polygon.io. Learn more. Add Compare Share Share Competitors Stock AnalysisAnalyst ForecastsChartCompetitorsDividendEarningsFinancialsHeadlinesInsider TradesOptions ChainOwnershipSEC FilingsShort InterestSustainabilityTrendsBuy This Stock FRME vs. SSB, CBSH, WBS, WAL, CFR, PNFP, WTFC, ZION, UMBF, and PBShould you be buying First Merchants stock or one of its competitors? The main competitors of First Merchants include SouthState (SSB), Commerce Bancshares (CBSH), Webster Financial (WBS), Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), Cullen/Frost Bankers (CFR), Pinnacle Financial Partners (PNFP), Wintrust Financial (WTFC), Zions Bancorporation, National Association (ZION), UMB Financial (UMBF), and Prosperity Bancshares (PB). These companies are all part of the "regional banks" industry. First Merchants vs. SouthState Commerce Bancshares Webster Financial Western Alliance Bancorporation Cullen/Frost Bankers Pinnacle Financial Partners Wintrust Financial Zions Bancorporation, National Association UMB Financial Prosperity Bancshares SouthState (NASDAQ:SSB) and First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their media sentiment, community ranking, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, earnings and analyst recommendations. Is SSB or FRME a better dividend stock? SouthState pays an annual dividend of $2.16 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. First Merchants pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.9%. SouthState pays out 31.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. First Merchants pays out 40.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. SouthState has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years and First Merchants has raised its dividend for 13 consecutive years. Which has higher earnings and valuation, SSB or FRME? SouthState has higher revenue and earnings than First Merchants. First Merchants is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than SouthState, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. CompanyGross RevenuePrice/Sales RatioNet IncomeEarnings Per SharePrice/Earnings RatioSouthState$1.67B5.16$534.78M$6.9612.19First Merchants$626.71M3.32$201.40M$3.4210.39 Do insiders & institutionals believe in SSB or FRME? 89.8% of SouthState shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 73.9% of First Merchants shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.7% of SouthState shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 1.4% of First Merchants shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Is SSB or FRME more profitable? SouthState has a net margin of 22.38% compared to First Merchants' net margin of 18.76%. SouthState's return on equity of 9.62% beat First Merchants' return on equity.Company Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets SouthState22.38% 9.62% 1.21% First Merchants 18.76%9.23%1.12% Do analysts rate SSB or FRME? SouthState currently has a consensus price target of $117.90, indicating a potential upside of 39.00%. First Merchants has a consensus price target of $48.20, indicating a potential upside of 35.66%. Given SouthState's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe SouthState is more favorable than First Merchants.Company Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score SouthState 0 Sell rating(s) 2 Hold rating(s) 7 Buy rating(s) 1 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.90First Merchants 0 Sell rating(s) 1 Hold rating(s) 4 Buy rating(s) 0 Strong Buy rating(s) 2.80 Does the MarketBeat Community prefer SSB or FRME? SouthState received 141 more outperform votes than First Merchants when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 61.81% of users gave SouthState an outperform vote while only 60.26% of users gave First Merchants an outperform vote. CompanyUnderperformOutperformSouthStateOutperform Votes50561.81% Underperform Votes31238.19% First MerchantsOutperform Votes36460.26% Underperform Votes24039.74% Which has more volatility & risk, SSB or FRME? SouthState has a beta of 0.65, meaning that its share price is 35% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, First Merchants has a beta of 0.95, meaning that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500. Does the media prefer SSB or FRME? In the previous week, SouthState had 5 more articles in the media than First Merchants. MarketBeat recorded 11 mentions for SouthState and 6 mentions for First Merchants. SouthState's average media sentiment score of 1.04 beat First Merchants' score of 0.71 indicating that SouthState is being referred to more favorably in the media. Company Very Positive Positive Neutral Negative Very Negative Overall Sentiment SouthState 8 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 3 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive First Merchants 2 Very Positive mention(s) 0 Positive mention(s) 3 Neutral mention(s) 0 Negative mention(s) 0 Very Negative mention(s) Positive SummarySouthState beats First Merchants on 19 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks. Get First Merchants News Delivered to You Automatically Sign up to receive the latest news and ratings for FRME and its competitors with MarketBeat's FREE daily newsletter. Email Address New MarketBeat Followers Over TimeWhat are MarkeBeat Followers?This chart shows the number of new MarketBeat users adding {thisCompany.Symbol} and its top 5 competitors to their watchlist. Each company is represented with a line over a 90 day period. Skip ChartMedia Sentiment Over TimeWhat is Media Sentiment?This chart shows the average media sentiment of NASDAQ and its competitors over the past 90 days as caculated by MarketBeat. The averaged score is equivalent to the following: Very Negative Sentiment <= -1.5, Negative Sentiment > -1.5 and <= -0.5, Neutral Sentiment > -0.5 and < 0.5, Positive Sentiment >= 0.5 and < 1.5, and Very Positive Sentiment >= 1.5.Skip Chart FRME vs. The Competition Export to ExcelMetricFirst MerchantsNational commercial banks IndustryFinance SectorNASDAQ ExchangeMarket Cap$2.08B$20.62B$10.82B$7.35BDividend Yield4.10%3.88%5.98%4.31%P/E Ratio10.3911.7921.6717.77Price / Sales3.322.6225.4397.65Price / Cash10.6911.1617.6134.64Price / Book0.951.092.563.98Net Income$201.40M$2.17B$1.03B$247.44M7 Day Performance4.10%3.96%1.87%1.82%1 Month Performance-12.51%-4.29%-3.71%-6.98%1 Year Performance7.93%15.71%535.22%1.49% First Merchants Competitors List Export to ExcelCompanyMarketRankShare PriceAnalysts' Price Target1Y Price PerformanceMarket CapRevenueP/E RatioEmployee CountIndicator(s)FRMEFirst Merchants4.8605 of 5 stars$35.53+0.2%$48.20+35.7%+9.4%$2.08B$626.71M10.392,120Upcoming EarningsShort Interest ↑SSBSouthState4.5256 of 5 stars$82.02+0.7%$118.40+44.4%+11.6%$8.31B$1.67B11.785,030Upcoming EarningsNews CoveragePositive NewsHigh Trading VolumeCBSHCommerce Bancshares3.887 of 5 stars$55.85+0.8%$66.83+19.7%+12.9%$7.49B$1.66B13.934,590Earnings ReportAnalyst ForecastNews CoverageWBSWebster Financial4.9964 of 5 stars$42.37+1.4%$62.92+48.5%-0.7%$7.26B$2.58B9.693,240Upcoming EarningsGap UpWALWestern Alliance Bancorporation4.9971 of 5 stars$61.94-0.3%$98.07+58.3%+19.3%$6.84B$3.16B8.723,360Upcoming EarningsShort Interest ↓High Trading VolumeCFRCullen/Frost Bankers4.6533 of 5 stars$105.99-0.9%$132.57+25.1%+4.0%$6.81B$2.06B11.954,980News CoveragePositive NewsPNFPPinnacle Financial Partners4.8514 of 5 stars$87.46+0.3%$123.82+41.6%+21.4%$6.77B$1.52B14.633,240Earnings ReportDividend AnnouncementAnalyst UpgradeNews CoveragePositive NewsHigh Trading VolumeWTFCWintrust Financial4.8313 of 5 stars$95.89-0.4%$133.69+39.4%+8.0%$6.40B$2.45B9.305,280Upcoming EarningsNews CoveragePositive NewsZIONZions Bancorporation, National Association4.9463 of 5 stars$42.65+3.0%$60.94+42.9%+12.5%$6.29B$3.13B8.629,990Upcoming EarningsShort Interest ↓Positive NewsHigh Trading VolumeUMBFUMB Financial4.9506 of 5 stars$86.61-0.3%$128.71+48.6%+14.9%$6.29B$1.47B9.633,770Analyst ForecastShort Interest ↑PBProsperity Bancshares4.9921 of 5 stars$63.97-0.7%$83.50+30.5%+10.7%$6.09B$1.15B12.643,630Upcoming EarningsDividend AnnouncementShort Interest ↓News Coverage Related Companies and Tools Related Companies SouthState Alternatives Commerce Bancshares Alternatives Webster Financial Alternatives Western Alliance Bancorporation Alternatives Cullen/Frost Bankers Alternatives Pinnacle Financial Partners Alternatives Wintrust Financial Alternatives Zions Bancorporation, National Association Alternatives UMB Financial Alternatives Prosperity Bancshares Alternatives Top 10 Stock Comparisons Semiconductor Stocks Artificial Intelligence Stocks Growth Stocks Magnificent Seven Stocks Pharmaceutical Stocks Ecommerce Stocks Bitcoin Stocks Meme Stocks Cryptocurrency Stocks Cybersecurity Stocks This page (NASDAQ:FRME) was last updated on 4/18/2025 by MarketBeat.com Staff From Our PartnersElon Reveals Why There Soon Won’t Be Any Money For Social SecurityElon Musk's Near-Death Experience Sparks Dire Warning for Americans After cheating death twice—once in a te...Colonial Metals | SponsoredThey Won’t Tell You This About GoldInflation, digital currency, and government policy are quietly eating away at your savings — and most people w...American Alternative | Sponsored🥾⛏️👷♂️ What I Learned From Numerous Mine Visits...Twenty years ago, I made a decision that changed my life. 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