First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRMEP) Short Interest Up 150.0% in September

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRMEP) saw a large growth in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 500 shares, a growth of 150.0% from the August 31st total of 200 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.5 days.

First Merchants Price Performance

First Merchants stock traded down $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $25.50. The company had a trading volume of 222 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,276. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.26. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $22.79 and a 1-year high of $26.43.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 30th were paid a dividend of $0.4688 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 30th. This represents a $1.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 7.35%.

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.