Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) Cut to Neutral at DA Davidson

Key Points

• DA Davidson downgraded Meridian from “Buy” to “Neutral” and set a $20 price target, implying approximately 7.7% upside from the stock’s $18.57 price.
• Meridian’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations, with earnings per share of $0.43 versus the $0.46 consensus estimate and revenue of $30.14 million compared with estimates of $33.05 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with two Buy, one Hold, and one Sell rating; the consensus rating is “Hold” with a $20.50 target price. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company, including a newly reported BlackRock position worth about $13.8 million.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at DA Davidson from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. They currently have a $20.00 price target on the stock. DA Davidson's target price points to a potential upside of 7.70% from the company's current price.

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meridian from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Meridian has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.50.

Meridian Trading Down 0.7%

NASDAQ MRBK opened at $18.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $221.54 million, a P/E ratio of 9.20 and a beta of 0.65. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $19.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. Meridian has a 52 week low of $13.92 and a 52 week high of $21.67.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). Meridian had a net margin of 11.89% and a return on equity of 12.29%. The firm had revenue of $30.14 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 million. Equities research analysts predict that Meridian will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MRBK. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its holdings in Meridian by 103.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,739 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in Meridian by 17.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,609 shares of the company's stock valued at $515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Meridian during the 2nd quarter worth $660,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Meridian during the 2nd quarter worth $13,832,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Meridian by 9.8% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 434,002 shares of the company's stock worth $8,229,000 after acquiring an additional 38,719 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Meridian

Meridian Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Through its principal subsidiary, Meridian Bank, the company provides commercial and community banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Meridian Bank offers business lending, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, equipment financing, residential and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management services and online banking. The company also provides mortgage banking and wealth management services, including investment and financial planning solutions.

Meridian was established in 2004 and serves customers through a network of banking offices in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and surrounding markets.

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