First Merchants Corporation (FRME) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.37 on June 19th

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be given a dividend of 0.37 per share by the bank on Friday, June 19th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. This is a 2.8% increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

First Merchants has increased its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 13 consecutive years. First Merchants has a dividend payout ratio of 36.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.48 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 32.7%.

First Merchants Stock Up 1.6%

NASDAQ:FRME opened at $40.15 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.85. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.99. First Merchants has a fifty-two week low of $34.66 and a fifty-two week high of $43.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.94.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.96 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $163.53 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. Analysts predict that First Merchants will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.