First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The bank reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02, FiscalAI reports. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.68% and a net margin of 21.49%.The company had revenue of $178.36 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $172.89 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $38.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a 50-day moving average of $37.86 and a 200-day moving average of $38.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $33.13 and a 1-year high of $45.62.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 5th were given a $0.36 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 5th. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. First Merchants’s payout ratio is presently 36.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on FRME. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, First Merchants currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 19.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 118,650 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,798,000 after buying an additional 19,375 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,708 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,522 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 132,785 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,370,000 after purchasing an additional 8,212 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in First Merchants by 941.6% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 107,859 shares of the bank’s stock worth $4,362,000 after purchasing an additional 97,504 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 42.6% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 43,260 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,749,000 after purchasing an additional 12,922 shares during the period. 73.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.