First Merchants (US:FRME) ZACKS·2024-07-30 17:00Core Viewpoint - The article discusses the momentum investing strategy, highlighting First Merchants (FRME) as a strong candidate due to its positive price trends and earnings estimate revisions. Company Overview - First Merchants (FRME) currently holds a Momentum Style Score of A, indicating strong momentum characteristics [5] - The company has a Zacks Rank of 2 (Buy), suggesting favorable investment potential [10] Price Performance - FRME shares have increased by 6.79% over the past week, outperforming the Zacks Banks - Midwest industry, which rose by 4.87% during the same period [6] - Over the last month, FRME's price change is 22.87%, compared to the industry's 14.93% [6] - In the last quarter, shares of FRME have risen by 15.21%, and over the past year, they have gained 25.47% [12] Earnings Estimates - In the past two months, one earnings estimate for FRME has moved higher, increasing the consensus estimate from $3.25 to $3.28 [4] - For the next fiscal year, two estimates have been revised upwards, with no downward revisions [4] Trading Volume - FRME's average 20-day trading volume is 257,052 shares, which serves as a baseline for price-to-volume analysis [3] - A rising stock with above-average volume is generally considered a bullish sign, while a declining stock with above-average volume is typically bearish [3] Investment Strategy - Momentum investing involves following a stock's recent price trends, with the aim of buying high and selling higher [9] - The Zacks Momentum Style Score incorporates both price changes and estimate revision trends, which are crucial for identifying promising stocks [13]