StockNews.com Downgrades First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) to Sell

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

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

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock opened at $32.86 on Friday. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $24.52 and a 1 year high of $38.16. The company’s 50-day moving average is $33.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79 and a beta of 1.08.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $158.50 million. Equities analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 24,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 162.4% during the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 23,798 shares of the bank’s stock worth $990,000 after acquiring an additional 14,728 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in First Merchants by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 26,461 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 22.6% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 12,439 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $517,000 after purchasing an additional 2,294 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 7.0% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the first quarter worth about $308,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.