Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) Stock Price Down 0.4% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Meridian shares fell 0.4% to $18.44, with trading volume 33% below the average session level. The company has a market capitalization of approximately $220 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with three Buy ratings and one Sell rating, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $22.00 average price target.
• Meridian missed quarterly expectations, reporting $0.48 in EPS versus the $0.51 consensus and revenue of $32.67 million versus estimates of $34.31 million. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, yielding about 3.0% annually.

Meridian Corp (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) traded down 0.4% on Monday. The company traded as low as $18.42 and last traded at $18.44. 41,757 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 33% from the average session volume of 62,752 shares. The stock had previously closed at $18.51.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MRBK. DA Davidson set a $23.00 price target on Meridian in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meridian from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Meridian Trading Down 0.4%

The firm has a market cap of $219.99 million, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.65. The business's fifty day moving average is $19.29 and its 200-day moving average is $19.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $32.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.31 million. Meridian had a return on equity of 12.29% and a net margin of 11.89%. Analysts predict that Meridian Corp will post 1.63 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 10th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 10th. Meridian's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.18%.

Institutional Trading of Meridian

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Meridian by 103.9% in the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 64,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,287,000 after acquiring an additional 32,739 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Meridian by 17.0% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 25,609 shares of the company's stock worth $515,000 after acquiring an additional 3,718 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Meridian during the 2nd quarter valued at about $660,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Meridian in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,832,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Meridian by 9.8% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 434,002 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,229,000 after acquiring an additional 38,719 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company's stock.

About Meridian

Meridian Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Through its principal subsidiary, Meridian Bank, the company provides commercial and community banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Meridian Bank offers business lending, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, equipment financing, residential and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management services and online banking. The company also provides mortgage banking and wealth management services, including investment and financial planning solutions.

Meridian was established in 2004 and serves customers through a network of banking offices in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and surrounding markets.

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