First Merchants Corporation (FRME) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 on June 19th

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) declared a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 19th. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.37 per share by the bank on Friday, June 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a 2.8% increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

First Merchants has raised its dividend by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 13 years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.8%.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a PE ratio of 11.80 and a beta of 0.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $39.29 and its 200 day moving average is $38.74. First Merchants has a 52 week low of $34.66 and a 52 week high of $43.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.87% and a return on equity of 9.58%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $48.33.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.