First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

First Merchants Co. (NASDAQ:FRME) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 625,200 shares, a growth of 24.6% from the June 30th total of 501,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 248,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.5 days.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In related news, Director Patrick J. Fehring sold 23,936 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.51, for a total transaction of $778,159.36. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 122,706 shares in the company, valued at $3,989,172.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. rhino investment partners Inc purchased a new stake in First Merchants during the fourth quarter valued at $8,572,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in First Merchants by 84.1% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 31,082 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after purchasing an additional 14,200 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 92.8% during the fourth quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 106,800 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,960,000 after purchasing an additional 51,400 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in First Merchants by 28.6% during the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 97,357 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after purchasing an additional 21,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its stake in First Merchants by 21.0% during the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 154,379 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $5,388,000 after purchasing an additional 26,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FRME traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $40.43. 102,888 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,252. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The business’s fifty day moving average is $34.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $34.16. First Merchants has a one year low of $25.70 and a one year high of $42.44. The stock has a market cap of $2.37 billion, a PE ratio of 11.61 and a beta of 1.04.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The bank reported $0.68 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by ($0.10). First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $267.72 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $156.35 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.25 earnings per share for the current year.

First Merchants Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Investors of record on Friday, June 7th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio is presently 40.35%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $41.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens upped their price target on shares of First Merchants from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and set a $45.00 target price (up previously from $43.00) on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $45.00.

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.