Piper Sandler Lowers First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Price Target to $47.00

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) had its price target cut by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $50.00 to $47.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the bank’s stock. Piper Sandler’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 28.87% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. 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 target for the company. Stephens lowered shares of First Merchants from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $45.00 price objective on shares of First Merchants in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $41.60.

First Merchants Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of FRME stock traded up $0.72 on Monday, reaching $36.47. 153,309 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 250,370. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $37.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $35.51. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.51 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.87. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $26.85 and a 12-month high of $42.44.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.90 by ($0.06). First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.17% and a net margin of 17.77%. The company had revenue of $265.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $160.55 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that First Merchants will post 3.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FRME. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of First Merchants during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter worth $45,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in First Merchants by 511.5% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in First Merchants by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,893 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 835 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at $79,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 73.92% of the company’s stock.

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.