Short Interest in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Grows By 30.4%

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

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Merchants by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,388 shares of the bank’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. increased its stake in First Merchants by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 26,908 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,073,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its stake in First Merchants by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 17,308 shares of the bank’s stock worth $690,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in First Merchants by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 7,141 shares of the bank’s stock worth $285,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in First Merchants by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,101 shares of the bank’s stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

First Merchants Trading Up 0.3 %

First Merchants stock traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $40.45. 100,420 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,683. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.84 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $41.91 and its 200-day moving average is $40.45. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $30.55 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 9.23% and a net margin of 18.76%. On average, analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.94%.

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.