Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) Stock Bumped Up to Hold by Wall Street Zen

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Sunday, Wall Street Zen reports.

MRBK has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Meridian from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, November 9th. DA Davidson lowered Meridian from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of Meridian in a report on Thursday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $20.00.

Meridian Trading Down 1.8%

Meridian stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.22. 82,154 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 100,638. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $18.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.16. Meridian has a twelve month low of $13.92 and a twelve month high of $21.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.70 million, a PE ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 0.65.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $30.14 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.05 million. Meridian had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 11.34%. Research analysts predict that Meridian will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in Meridian by 58.4% in the third quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 852,721 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,048,000 after acquiring an additional 314,331 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Meridian during the second quarter worth approximately $13,832,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Meridian by 9.8% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 434,002 shares of the company's stock worth $8,229,000 after purchasing an additional 38,719 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Meridian by 103.9% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,257 shares of the company's stock worth $1,287,000 after purchasing an additional 32,739 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Meridian by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 60,579 shares of the company's stock worth $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 8,132 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Meridian Company Profile

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.

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