Short Interest in First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Grows By 20.0%

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) was the target of a large growth in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 563,900 shares, a growth of 20.0% from the October 31st total of 469,900 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 269,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.1 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on FRME shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Stephens downgraded First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Hovde Group assumed coverage on First Merchants in a report on Monday, August 12th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $38.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on First Merchants from $50.00 to $47.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 28th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $41.60.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in First Merchants by 4.3% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 51,137 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,785,000 after acquiring an additional 2,089 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its holdings in shares of First Merchants by 1,313.6% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 7,266 shares of the bank’s stock worth $254,000 after purchasing an additional 6,752 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in shares of First Merchants by 511.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 1,606 shares during the period. AlphaMark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants in the second quarter valued at $299,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in First Merchants by 60.6% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $351,000 after buying an additional 3,981 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME opened at $43.69 on Tuesday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average price is $39.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $36.91. The stock has a market cap of $2.56 billion, a PE ratio of 14.42 and a beta of 1.01. First Merchants has a one year low of $30.55 and a one year high of $46.13.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.90 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 16.94% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

First Merchants Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.20%.

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.