Meridian Corp (NASDAQ:MRBK) Shares Set to Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.14

Key Points

• Meridian declared a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, payable November 16 to shareholders of record November 9. The annualized dividend is $0.56, yielding about 3.4%.
• The dividend appears well covered: Meridian’s payout ratio is 26.4%, and analysts expect a similar 26.7% payout ratio next year.
• Meridian reported quarterly EPS of $0.43, below the $0.46 consensus, and revenue of $30.14 million, below estimates. Analysts’ consensus rating is Hold, with a $20 price target.

Meridian Corp (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share on Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 9th.

Meridian has increased its dividend by an average of 0.3% annually over the last three years. Meridian has a payout ratio of 26.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Meridian to earn $2.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.7%.

Meridian Stock Up 0.7%

MRBK stock opened at $16.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.85 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market capitalization of $196.49 million, a P/E ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.65. Meridian has a twelve month low of $13.92 and a twelve month high of $21.67.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 11.46%. The firm had revenue of $30.14 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $33.05 million. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meridian will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on MRBK shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded Meridian from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. DA Davidson downgraded shares of Meridian from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meridian from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $20.00 target price (down from $24.00) on shares of Meridian in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.00.

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.

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