Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Trading Up 3.6% – What’s Next?

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) shares were up 3.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $18.57 and last traded at $18.53. Approximately 146,733 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 69% from the average daily volume of 86,696 shares. The stock had previously closed at $17.88.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on MRBK shares. Weiss Ratings cut Meridian Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Meridian Bank from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price objective on Meridian Bank and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen cut Meridian Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Meridian Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Meridian Bank has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Meridian Bank Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm has a market cap of $220.32 million, a P/E ratio of 8.95 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $18.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.34.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.48 by ($0.09). Meridian Bank had a net margin of 11.68% and a return on equity of 12.61%. The business had revenue of $30.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.79 million. Equities analysts anticipate that Meridian Bank will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Meridian Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 4th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. Meridian Bank’s payout ratio is presently 27.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meridian Bank

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MRBK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Meridian Bank by 26,887.5% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 4,302 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. bought a new stake in Meridian Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $64,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted 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 valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 2,331 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Meridian Bank by 166.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,103 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund bought a new stake in Meridian Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

About Meridian Bank

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.