First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Short Interest Update

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a large decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 504,600 shares, a decline of 7.2% from the March 15th total of 543,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 269,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on FRME. Raymond James upped their target price on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. StockNews.com cut First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other First Merchants news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $105,911.81. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 16.3% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,893,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $138,157,000 after buying an additional 686,348 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 4,586.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 700,711 shares of the bank’s stock worth $25,982,000 after buying an additional 685,758 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $19,196,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,708,968 shares of the bank’s stock worth $237,493,000 after buying an additional 426,862 shares during the last quarter. Finally, rhino investment partners Inc bought a new position in First Merchants in the 4th quarter worth $8,572,000. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of FRME opened at $32.51 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.86, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.76. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $24.52 and a 52 week high of $38.16. The stock has a market cap of $1.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.08.

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

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.18%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

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.