Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Short Interest Update

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 31,400 shares, a decrease of 25.9% from the May 15th total of 42,400 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 49,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.6 days. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Meridian Bank Price Performance

NASDAQ MRBK traded down $0.28 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.49. 47,846 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 32,933. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Meridian Bank has a 12-month low of $10.04 and a 12-month high of $17.33. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $13.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $14.48. The company has a market capitalization of $129.61 million, a P/E ratio of 8.09 and a beta of 0.70.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $0.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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. As a group, analysts predict that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. Meridian Bank's payout ratio is currently 35.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert M. Casciato acquired 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $13.79 per share, with a total value of $27,580.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 215,396 shares in the company, valued at $2,970,310.84. This represents a 0.94% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In the last quarter, insiders acquired 3,208 shares of company stock worth $44,416. Corporate insiders own 14.38% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Meridian Bank

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Meridian Bank by 3.0% during 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 last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Meridian Bank by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 31,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,000 after buying an additional 1,803 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 18,452 shares of the company's stock worth $253,000 after purchasing an additional 2,609 shares in the last quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Meridian Bank by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 18,347 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 4,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Meridian Bank by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 33,590 shares of the company's stock worth $484,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MRBK shares. Piper Sandler dropped their target price 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. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Meridian Bank from $19.00 to $18.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th.

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.