First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME) Raises Dividend to $0.37 Per Share

Posted by Francis Steltz on May 20th, 2026

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) declared 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) annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This is a 2.8% increase from First Merchants’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.36.

First Merchants has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 13 years. First Merchants has a payout ratio of 35.8% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect First Merchants to earn $4.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.44 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 31.8%.

First Merchants Price Performance

FRME opened at $39.60 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $39.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.71. First Merchants has a 1 year low of $34.66 and a 1 year high of $43.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 0.86.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The bank reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.96 by $0.07. First Merchants had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 18.87%.The company had revenue of $163.53 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $201.91 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 4.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FRME. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on First Merchants from $46.00 to $49.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings lowered First Merchants from a “buy (b)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded First Merchants from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $48.33.

View Our Latest Stock Report on First Merchants

First Merchants Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.