Piper Sandler Rates First Merchants (FRME) buy, $51 Price Target

Piper Sandler maintains its buy rating on First Merchants Corporation with a $51 target, a 17.46% upside from the current price.

By EarningsIQ Research Desk · Published Jun 26, 2026, 11:02 AM EDT · Updated Jun 30, 2026, 2:03 PM EDT

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Piper Sandler rated First Merchants Corporation ($FRME) "buy" with a $51 price target on June 26, 2026.

Since the rating, $FRME is down 0.6% after 1 week, down 2.3% after 1 month and down 8.6% to date (from the $43.30 close on Jun 26, 2026).

FRME First Merchants Corporation

$39.60 +8.55% year to date

Daily close · Oct 16, 2026

Key Points

Piper Sandler reiterated its buy rating for First Merchants Corporation (FRME) with a target price of $51 on June 26, 2026.
Piper Sandler's $51 price target implies 17.46% upside from First Merchants Corporation's ($FRME) current $43.42 share price.
Shares of FRME traded at $43.37 on Friday, with a market cap of approximately $2.73 billion and a P/E ratio of 12.79.
Insider activity includes recent purchases by top executives, and institutional investors like BlackRock and Vanguard opened or increased positions.

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Piper Sandler reiterated its buy rating for First Merchants Corporation (NasdaqGS: FRME) on June 26, 2026. Analyst Nathan Race set a target price of $51 for the regional bank's stock. Shares of First Merchants traded at $43.37 on Friday.

Analyst rating track record

Piper Sandler vs. the S&P 500

YTD return -13.43% hypothetical

All-time return +29.48% S&P 500 +34.03%

vs. S&P 500 -4.55% behind the index

Hypothetical returns from Piper Sandler's disclosed trades, not real profit or advice. How we model this.

Other Institutional Activity in First Merchants Corporation

Several institutional investors have been active in First Merchants Corporation. BlackRock, Inc. increased its holdings by 255,670 shares, ending with 4,899,356 shares worth about $189.8 million, a 5.5% increase. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake by 277,977 shares to 3,596,017 shares, valued at approximately $139.3 million, marking an 8.4% increase. Vanguard Portfolio Management LLC and Vanguard Capital Management LLC both opened new positions, holding 3,359,034 and 2,730,611 shares, respectively. Earnest Partners LLC reduced its holdings by 54,782 shares, leaving it with 2,255,590 shares valued at around $87.4 million, a 2.4% decrease. State Street Corp added 264,795 shares, totaling 2,239,768 shares worth about $86.7 million, reflecting a 13.4% increase.

First Merchants Corporation Stock Up 6.2%

Shares of First Merchants Corporation (NasdaqGS: FRME) traded near $43.37 on Friday. The company boasts a market capitalization of approximately $2.73 billion and a P/E ratio of 12.79. Its forward P/E ratio stands at 9.52, and the stock has a beta of 0.865. Over the past 52 weeks, First Merchants' stock has ranged from a low of $34.66 to a high of $43.37. The 50-day moving average is $40.46, while the 200-day moving average is $38.86.

12-month forecast

$FRME price target

First Merchants Corporation daily closes and this analyst's $51 target. Not advice.

Recent Earnings

First Merchants Corporation reported revenues of $637.8 million, with a slight decline in revenue growth of 2.5%. The company achieved an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.39, with a net margin of 31.17% and a return on equity (ROE) of 7.95%. The next earnings report is expected on July 22, 2026.

Dividend

The company pays an annual dividend rate of $1.48, yielding 3.41%. The dividend payout ratio is 42.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at First Merchants Corporation

Recent insider trading activity at First Merchants Corporation includes purchases by Chief Information Officer Stephan Fluhler and CEO Mark Hardwick, who bought 96 and 31 shares, respectively, at an average price of $40.90 on June 23, 2026. Additionally, Larry Myers sold 10,000 shares at $42.00 on June 12, 2026, and another 10,000 shares at $41.50 on June 11, 2026.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

On June 26, 2026, Piper Sandler maintained its buy rating for First Merchants Corporation with a target price of $51. The consensus among analysts is a buy rating, with a target mean price of $47.6 based on five analyst opinions.

About First Merchants Corporation

First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company based in Muncie, Indiana. It operates First Merchants Bank, offering a variety of banking services including commercial and consumer banking. The bank provides checking and savings accounts, debit and credit cards, mortgage services, and wealth management. It serves clients across Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan through physical branches and digital platforms. The company, led by CEO Mark K. Hardwick, employs over 2,000 people.

Bottom Line

Piper Sandler's reiteration of a buy rating for First Merchants Corporation reinforces confidence in the company's prospects. With a target price of $51, the stock remains attractive to investors. As always, remember that 13F filings and analyst ratings are backward-looking and may not reflect current market conditions.