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

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 423,100 shares, a growth of 30.4% from the February 13th total of 324,400 shares. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 248,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.7 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Phocas Financial Corp. grew its holdings in First Merchants by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 281,626 shares of the bank’s stock worth $11,234,000 after acquiring an additional 41,396 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in First Merchants by 21.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 124,573 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $4,969,000 after buying an additional 21,750 shares during the last quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of First Merchants by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 23,771 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 1,453 shares during the period. Waverly Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the fourth quarter worth $260,000. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants during the 4th quarter worth about $669,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $40.58. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 291,119 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,172. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $30.55 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $41.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.47.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The bank reported $1.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.10. First Merchants had a net margin of 18.76% and a return on equity of 9.23%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.94%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on FRME shares. Raymond James reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up from $42.00) on shares of First Merchants in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target (up previously from $52.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Hovde Group upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on First Merchants from $50.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.00.

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.