Stephens Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME)

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating restated by Stephens in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $46.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Stephens’ price target points to a potential upside of 21.21% from the company’s previous close.

FRME has been the subject of several other research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Merchants from $49.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Piper Sandler cut their target price on First Merchants from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Raymond James Financial downgraded First Merchants from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $48.00.

First Merchants Stock Down 0.7%

FRME stock opened at $37.95 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.84 and a beta of 1.10. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $33.13 and a fifty-two week high of $46.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $39.80 and a 200-day moving average of $38.63.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.94 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $170.52 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.13 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.88% and a net margin of 21.35%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.68 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of First Merchants

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Caldwell Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 2nd quarter valued at about $50,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its position in shares of First Merchants by 314.5% during the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 1,318 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spectrum Wealth Counsel LLC bought a new stake in shares of First Merchants during the 1st quarter valued at about $56,000. Institutional investors own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.