Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Meridian from “hold” to “sell.” Analyst views are mixed, and MarketBeat reports an overall “hold” rating with a consensus price target of $20.
• Meridian’s latest quarterly results fell short of expectations: EPS was $0.43 versus a $0.46 consensus, while revenue of $30.14 million missed estimates of $33.05 million.
• MRBK opened at $16.47, below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $18.85 and $19.21, respectively.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report released on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meridian from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of Meridian in a research note on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson cut shares of Meridian from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a report on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $20.00.

Meridian Trading Up 0.7%

MRBK stock opened at $16.47 on Friday. Meridian has a twelve month low of $13.92 and a twelve month high of $21.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $196.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.72 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $18.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.21.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm 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 11.37%. As a group, analysts anticipate that Meridian will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRBK. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Meridian during the 1st quarter valued at $345,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Meridian during the 1st quarter worth approximately $416,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meridian in the 2nd quarter worth $660,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Meridian by 15.5% in the third quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 60,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,140,000 after acquiring an additional 8,132 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 32,739 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company's stock.

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.

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.