The stock price of First Merchants Corp. (NASDAQ: FRME) has jumped by 0.39 compared to previous close of 33.20. Despite this, the company has seen a fall of -6.85% in its stock price over the last five trading days. globenewswire.com reported 2024-05-08 that MUNCIE, Ind., May 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Merchants Corporation announced that Jean L. Wojtowicz has been appointed as First Merchants Corporation and First Merchants Bank Chair of the Board of Directors. Effective May 7, 2024, Wojtowicz succeeds Charles E. Schalliol, who retired after serving as Chair for the past seventeen years.
Is It Worth Investing in First Merchants Corp. (NASDAQ: FRME) Right Now?
The price-to-earnings ratio for First Merchants Corp. (NASDAQ: FRME) is above average at 9.63x, Company’s 36-month beta value is 1.08.Analysts have differing opinions on the stock, with 1 analysts rating it as a “buy,” 2 as “overweight,” 3 as “hold,” and 0 as “sell.”
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The public float for FRME is 57.73M, and currently, short sellers hold a 1.15% ratio of that floaft. The average trading volume of FRME on May 27, 2024 was 253.94K shares.
FRME’s Market Performance
FRME’s stock has seen a -6.85% decrease for the week, with a -3.28% drop in the past month and a -0.98% fall in the past quarter. The volatility ratio for the week is 2.33%, and the volatility levels for the past 30 days are at 2.07% for First Merchants Corp. The simple moving average for the last 20 days is -4.54% for FRME’s stock, with a simple moving average of 3.04% for the last 200 days.
Analysts’ Opinion of FRME
Many brokerage firms have already submitted their reports for FRME stocks, with Raymond James repeating the rating for FRME by listing it as a “Outperform.” The predicted price for FRME in the upcoming period, according to Raymond James is $50 based on the research report published on February 21, 2023 of the previous year 2023.
Hovde Group gave a rating of “Outperform” to FRME, setting the target price at $47 in the report published on December 13th of the previous year.
FRME Trading at -2.38% from the 50-Day Moving Average
After a stumble in the market that brought FRME to its low price for the period of the last 52 weeks, the company was unable to rebound, for now settling with -12.66% of loss for the given period.
Volatility was left at 2.07%, however, over the last 30 days, the volatility rate increased by 2.33%, as shares sank -2.34% for the moving average over the last 20 days. Over the last 50 days, in opposition, the stock is trading +1.96% upper at present.
During the last 5 trading sessions, FRME fell by -6.85%, which changed the moving average for the period of 200-days by +4.48% in comparison to the 20-day moving average, which settled at $34.88. In addition, First Merchants Corp. saw -10.11% in overturn over a single year, with a tendency to cut further losses.
Insider Trading
Reports are indicating that there were more than several insider trading activities at FRME starting from Stewart Michael J, who purchase 36 shares at the price of $29.67 back on Mar 29 ’24. After this action, Stewart Michael J now owns 88,952 shares of First Merchants Corp., valued at $1,068 using the latest closing price.
FLUHLER STEPHAN, the Chief Information Officer of First Merchants Corp., sale 3,193 shares at $33.17 during a trade that took place back on Feb 28 ’24, which means that FLUHLER STEPHAN is holding 24,070 shares at $105,912 based on the most recent closing price.
Stock Fundamentals for FRME
Current profitability levels for the company are sitting at:
- 0.3 for the present operating margin
- 1.0 for the gross margin
The net margin for First Merchants Corp. stands at 0.24. The total capital return value is set at 0.02. Equity return is now at value 9.55, with 1.14 for asset returns.
Based on First Merchants Corp. (FRME), the company’s capital structure generated 0.28 points at debt to capital in total, while cash flow to debt ratio is standing at 0.26. The debt to equity ratio resting at 0.39. The interest coverage ratio of the stock is 0.86.
Currently, EBITDA for the company is 8.74 million with net debt to EBITDA at 2.57. When we switch over and look at the enterprise to sales, we see a ratio of 2.71. The receivables turnover for the company is 9.18for trailing twelve months and the total asset turnover is 0.05. The liquidity ratio also appears to be rather interesting for investors as it stands at 0.14.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, First Merchants Corp. (FRME) has experienced a bad performance in recent times. The stock has received mixed “buy” and “hold” ratings from analysts. It’s important to note that the stock is currently trading at a significant distance from its 50-day moving average and its 52-week high.
