Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) from a "buy" to a "hold" in a note to investors.
• Despite that downgrade, most analysts still rate the stock as a Buy consensus with a $22 target, and several firms recently raised price targets to $22.
• Fundamentals show a recent quarter where Meridian reported $0.61 EPS (beating the $0.55 estimate) and $34.44M in revenue; the stock trades around $20.49 with a market cap of about $243M and a P/E of 10.84.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Meridian Bank from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Meridian Bank in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a report on Friday, March 27th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Meridian Bank Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MRBK opened at $20.49 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.53. The company has a market capitalization of $243.42 million, a P/E ratio of 10.84 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Meridian Bank has a 1 year low of $11.16 and a 1 year high of $21.67.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $34.44 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.41 million. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 11.81%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Key Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $917,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $946,000. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,996,000. Traynor Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $395,000. Finally, CWM LLC purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company's stock.

Meridian Bank Company Profile

Meridian Bank, a Pennsylvania-chartered institution founded in 1993 and headquartered in Philadelphia, operates as a full-service community bank serving the Greater Philadelphia region. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Meridian Bancorp, Inc NASDAQ: MRBK, the bank maintains a network of branch locations complemented by online and mobile platforms to meet the evolving needs of individual and business customers.

On the consumer side, Meridian Bank offers a comprehensive suite of deposit products, including checking accounts, savings accounts and certificates of deposit, alongside personal lending solutions such as home equity lines of credit, residential mortgage loans and unsecured consumer loans.

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