Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Trading Up 3.6% – Should You Buy?

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Meridian Bank Stock Up 1.9%

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $18.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $18.34. The company has a market cap of $224.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.13 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) last posted its earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $31.79 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meridian Bank will post 1.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 11th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Meridian Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank 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 purchasing an additional 38,719 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the first quarter valued at about $345,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the first quarter worth about $416,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 16,153 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 3,152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Meridian Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $234,000. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.