First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.36

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, February 9th. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be paid a dividend of 0.36 per share by the bank on Friday, March 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th.

First Merchants has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 35.5%.

First Merchants Stock Up 0.3%

FRME stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $41.93. 238,011 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 356,277. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.91. First Merchants has a 1-year low of $33.13 and a 1-year high of $45.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $38.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.31. The firm has a market cap of $2.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 26th. The bank reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $178.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $172.89 million. First Merchants had a net margin of 21.49% and a return on equity of 9.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that First Merchants will post 3.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Zacks Research cut First Merchants from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of First Merchants in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, First Merchants presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $47.75.

First Merchants Company Profile

First Merchants Corporation, through its subsidiary First Merchants Bank, offers a comprehensive suite of banking and financial services to individuals, businesses and public sector clients. The company’s core business activities include retail and commercial banking, lending, treasury and cash management, and wealth advisory services. With a focus on relationship banking, First Merchants seeks to deliver tailored solutions for deposit accounts, loan financing and other credit products.

On the consumer side, First Merchants provides checking and savings accounts, certificates of deposit, personal and mortgage loans, and electronic banking conveniences.