First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 911,365 shares, a decline of 20.2% from the December 15th total of 1,142,561 shares. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 280,994 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Based on an average daily volume of 280,994 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.2 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

First Merchants Price Performance

First Merchants stock opened at $38.08 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.52 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. First Merchants has a 12 month low of $33.13 and a 12 month high of $45.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $37.50 and its 200-day moving average is $38.44.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The bank reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.03. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.82% and a net margin of 22.04%.The business had revenue of $172.35 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.78 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.84 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FRME has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research cut First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 1st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $46.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, September 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on First Merchants from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.60.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FRME. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 361.7% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 771 shares of the bank’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 62.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 987 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. GGM Financials LLC bought a new position in shares of First Merchants in the 3rd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 98.4% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,784 shares of the bank’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

About First Merchants

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.