First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell”

StockNews.com cut shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Raymond James increased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th.

First Merchants Stock Performance

NASDAQ FRME opened at $34.72 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $33.01. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $24.52 and a fifty-two week high of $38.16. The company has a market cap of $2.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. First Merchants had a net margin of 22.39% and a return on equity of 10.97%. The business had revenue of $156.51 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.50 million. Sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.36%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in First Merchants by 61.7% in the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 10,449 shares of the bank’s stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 3,988 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC now owns 12,712 shares of the bank’s stock worth $354,000 after buying an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 41.7% during the third quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 55,400 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,541,000 after buying an additional 16,300 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 82.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 20,208 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $562,000 after acquiring an additional 9,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in First Merchants by 6.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 21,889 shares of the bank’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 1,245 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.