Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Releases Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.09 EPS

Key Points

• Meridian Bank missed quarterly earnings, reporting EPS of $0.39 versus the $0.48 consensus and revenue of $30.24M versus $31.79M, with a net margin of 10.63% and ROE of 11.81%.
• Meridian increased its quarterly dividend to $0.14 (annualized $0.56), implying a 2.8% yield and a payout ratio of about 29.6%.
• The stock traded near $20.20 with a market cap around $240M, and analysts hold a consensus Buy rating with a $22.00 target after several recent upgrades.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by ($0.09), FiscalAI reports. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The business had revenue of $30.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.79 million.

Meridian Bank Trading Up 0.0%

NASDAQ:MRBK traded up $0.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $20.20. 81,287 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 94,621. The stock has a market capitalization of $239.90 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.75. Meridian Bank has a 52 week low of $11.16 and a 52 week high of $21.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $19.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Meridian Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, February 9th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Meridian Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Meridian Bank's payout ratio is currently 29.63%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 213,117 shares of the company's stock worth $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,279 shares of the company's stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,530 shares of the company's stock worth $449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 125.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,183 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 24.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,153 shares of the company's stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MRBK. DA Davidson upped their target price 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. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meridian Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $22.00 target price (up from $20.00) on shares of Meridian Bank in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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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