Analysts Set Expectations for Meridian Bank FY2025 Earnings

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Free Report) - Stock analysts at DA Davidson boosted their FY2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Meridian Bank in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, July 1st. DA Davidson analyst M. Navas now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $1.60 for the year, up from their prior forecast of $1.50. DA Davidson currently has a "Buy" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. The consensus estimate for Meridian Bank's current full-year earnings is $2.07 per share.

Separately, Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $16.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th.

Meridian Bank Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of Meridian Bank stock traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $13.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 75,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 40,206. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.17 and a 200 day moving average of $14.15. Meridian Bank has a 1-year low of $10.04 and a 1-year high of $17.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $157.69 million, a PE ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 0.67.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.12). Meridian Bank had a net margin of 8.09% and a return on equity of 9.52%. The business had revenue of $27.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $27.93 million.

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 12th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Meridian Bank's payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Robert M. Casciato acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $13.79 per share, with a total value of $27,580.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 215,396 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,970,310.84. The trade was a 0.94% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders purchased 3,208 shares of company stock worth $44,416. Insiders own 14.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Meridian Bank during the 4th quarter valued at $139,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meridian Bank in the 4th quarter valued at about $186,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the first quarter valued at about $209,000. Citadel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 29.0% during the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 18,347 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 4,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,452 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 2,609 shares during the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Meridian Bank

Meridian Corporation operates as the holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. The company offers various deposit products, such as demand non-interest bearing, demand interest bearing, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits.