First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Plans $0.36 Quarterly Dividend

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.36 per share by the bank on Friday, December 19th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 5th.

First Merchants has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.06 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 35.5%.

First Merchants Trading Up 2.3%

First Merchants stock traded up $0.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $37.65. 64,573 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 290,045. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.90. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $33.13 and a 52-week high of $45.62. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $36.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $38.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.39 and a beta of 0.96.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. First Merchants had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 9.82%. The business had revenue of $172.35 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.78 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Raymond James Financial cut shares of First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Zacks Research lowered shares of First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $47.60.

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.