Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Short Interest Up 48.4% in August

Key Points

• Meridian Bank's short interest increased by 48.4% in August, totaling 294,500 shares, compared to 198,400 shares at the end of July.
• DA Davidson has raised its price target for Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00, maintaining a "buy" rating, while the stock has an average target of $17.50.
• The bank recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 294,500 shares, agrowthof48.4% from the July 31st total of 198,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 73,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Based on an average trading volume of 73,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $17.50.

Meridian Bank Price Performance

Shares of MRBK traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $15.67. 96,641 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 58,624. Meridian Bank has a 1 year low of $10.89 and a 1 year high of $17.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $177.07 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.73 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $14.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.00.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $32.45 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $29.65 million. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 9.01% and a return on equity of 10.62%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 11th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 11th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Meridian Bank's payout ratio is presently 31.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 61,367 shares of the company's stock valued at $841,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 6.0% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the second quarter valued at about $27,000. 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 valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 2,609 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 4.2% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 86,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,111,000 after buying an additional 3,475 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company's stock.

Meridian Bank Company Profile

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.

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