Brokerages Set First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) PT at $48.33

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $48.3333.

FRME has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings raised First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd.

First Merchants Stock Down 1.7%

First Merchants stock opened at $39.70 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 0.88. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $43.22. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $39.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.85% and a net margin of 18.87%.During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 4.19 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th were paid a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 6th. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 37.02%.

Insider Transactions at First Merchants

In other news, insider Eva D. Scurlock sold 3,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.29, for a total value of $136,469.83. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,063 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $848,464.27. The trade was a 13.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Larry W. Myers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.50, for a total value of $207,500.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 109,491 shares in the company, valued at $4,543,876.50. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 1.77% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 361.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 325.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 796 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 609 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in First Merchants by 62.1% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of First Merchants by 68.9% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,042 shares of the bank’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting First Merchants

Here are the key news stories impacting First Merchants this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 EPS beat analysts — FRME reported $1.03 EPS vs. consensus ~$0.96, signaling core earnings resilience. First Merchants (FRME) Beats Q1 Earnings Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management emphasized core strength, loan growth and ongoing integration benefits on the earnings call — commentary that supports medium-term profit recovery and margin improvement expectations. First Merchants Earnings Call Highlights Core Strength
• Neutral Sentiment: Deep-dive coverage highlights loan growth, changing deposit mix and integration timing as the key drivers for the outlook — useful context but not an immediate catalyst. FRME Q1 deep dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentators are reassessing valuation as recent returns cool from a three?year run; valuation calls may temper upside until growth clarity improves. Assessing First Merchants (FRME) Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Revenue missed expectations materially — reported ~$163.5M vs. consensus ~$201.9M, raising concerns about fee income, noninterest revenue or one?time items. First Merchants Reports Sales Below Analyst Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Sequential net income/diluted EPS showed a decline vs. the prior quarter in the press release (net income available to common shareholders $27.7M / $0.45 diluted vs. $56.6M / $0.99 in prior quarter), which may signal seasonal or integration-related volatility and weighed on sentiment. First Merchants Announces First Quarter 2026 Results

About First Merchants

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.