First Merchants (FRME) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) is set to issue its quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.84 per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.87. The firm had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $158.50 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 22.39%. On average, analysts expect First Merchants to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year.

First Merchants Stock Performance

First Merchants stock opened at $34.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $33.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $33.01. The company has a market capitalization of $2.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.28 and a beta of 1.08. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $24.52 and a fifty-two week high of $38.16.

First Merchants Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. First Merchants’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.36%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total value of $105,911.81. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on FRME shares. StockNews.com cut First Merchants from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Raymond James increased their price objective on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th.

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.