First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Share Price Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $40.76 and traded as high as $41.19. First Merchants shares last traded at $41.09, with a volume of 494,153 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FRME. Weiss Ratings upgraded First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Raymond James Financial upgraded First Merchants from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $46.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of First Merchants from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Finally, Stephens raised shares of First Merchants to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $40.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 0.87.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The bank reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.06. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.14% and a net margin of 17.56%. The business had revenue of $205.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $203.94 million. On average, research analysts forecast that First Merchants Corporation will post 3.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 4th were issued a dividend of $0.37 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 4th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.82%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at about $9,001,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,195,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,939,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd raised its position in shares of First Merchants by 892.3% in the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 84,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after acquiring an additional 75,579 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,273,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation is a financial services holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Merchants Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to individuals, families, businesses and institutions.

First Merchants Bank offers deposit accounts, consumer and commercial lending, mortgage services, treasury and cash-management solutions, online and mobile banking, investment management and trust services. The company also provides wealth-management and insurance-related services through affiliated operations.

Founded in 1893, First Merchants has expanded through organic growth and acquisitions and serves customers across Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.