First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Separately, Raymond James increased their price objective on First Merchants from $33.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th.

First Merchants Price Performance

Shares of FRME stock opened at $33.10 on Friday. First Merchants has a 52-week low of $24.52 and a 52-week high of $38.16. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.69.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 25th. The bank reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87. First Merchants had a return on equity of 10.97% and a net margin of 22.39%. The business had revenue of $156.51 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $158.50 million. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at First Merchants

In other news, insider Stephan Fluhler sold 3,193 shares of First Merchants stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.17, for a total transaction of $105,911.81. Following the sale, the insider now owns 24,070 shares in the company, valued at $798,401.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FRME. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its stake in shares of First Merchants by 27.6% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,524 shares of the bank’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of First Merchants by 7.0% during the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,337 shares of the bank’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 5.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 7,112 shares of the bank’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 35.0% in the second quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,454 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in First Merchants by 16.0% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 2,806 shares of the bank’s stock worth $78,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.