Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Trading Up 0.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Meridian Bank's stock saw a modest increase of 0.8% on Monday, trading at $14.37, with a market cap of $162.38 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" for Meridian Bank, with a target price of $17.50, reflecting confidence in the company's growth potential.
• The bank recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.5%, demonstrating its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) shares were up 0.8% on Monday . The company traded as high as $14.47 and last traded at $14.37. Approximately 70,957 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 3% from the average daily volume of 72,806 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on MRBK shares. DA Davidson lifted their target price on Meridian Bank from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meridian Bank has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $17.50.

Meridian Bank Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $162.38 million, a P/E ratio of 8.93 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a fifty day moving average of $15.33 and a 200 day moving average of $14.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

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

Meridian Bank Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. Meridian Bank's payout ratio is 31.06%.

Institutional Trading of Meridian Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Fourthstone LLC increased its holdings in shares of Meridian Bank by 40.4% in the second quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,084,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,977,000 after buying an additional 311,870 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 110.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 212,905 shares of the company's stock worth $2,745,000 after purchasing an additional 111,939 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 75.3% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 122,199 shares of the company's stock worth $1,758,000 after purchasing an additional 52,500 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 114.1% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 83,179 shares of the company's stock worth $1,198,000 after purchasing an additional 44,332 shares during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in Meridian Bank by 113.9% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 79,065 shares of the company's stock worth $1,139,000 after buying an additional 42,106 shares during the period. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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