Raymond James Financial Upgrades First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME) to “Outperform”

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Oct 8th, 2026

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Raymond James Financial from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $46.00 price target on the bank’s stock. Raymond James Financial’s target price indicates a potential upside of 17.08% from the stock’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stephens upgraded shares of First Merchants to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of First Merchants from $51.00 to $46.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of First Merchants from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $46.00.

View Our Latest Report on First Merchants

First Merchants Price Performance

First Merchants stock opened at $39.29 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $41.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.59 and a beta of 0.87. First Merchants has a 12-month low of $34.66 and a 12-month high of $45.33.

First Merchants (NASDAQ:FRME – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The bank reported $0.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.28). First Merchants had a return on equity of 8.86% and a net margin of 17.05%.The firm had revenue of $202.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $202.78 million. As a group, research analysts anticipate that First Merchants will post 3.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On First Merchants

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of First Merchants in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $27,195,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in First Merchants during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $9,001,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,939,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its holdings in First Merchants by 892.3% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 84,049 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,255,000 after purchasing an additional 75,579 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in First Merchants during the second quarter valued at approximately $4,273,000. 73.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About First Merchants

(Get Free Report)

First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ: FRME) is a financial services company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. Through its principal subsidiary, First Merchants Bank, the company provides banking and related financial services to individuals, families, businesses, and institutions.

Its offerings include personal and business deposit accounts, consumer and commercial loans, residential mortgage lending, cash-management and treasury services, investment and trust services, and wealth-management solutions.