First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Separately, Raymond James upped their price target 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 Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $33.10 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.08. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $24.52 and a 12-month high of $38.16. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $33.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.50 million. Sell-side analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.35 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.11%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other First Merchants news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in First Merchants in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, State of Wyoming increased its holdings in First Merchants by 35.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,454 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Company Profile

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.