Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to “Buy” Rating
by Amy Steele · The Cerbat GemWall Street Zen upgraded shares of Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK – Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Saturday morning.
MRBK has been the topic of several other reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson raised their price objective on shares of Meridian Bank from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Meridian Bank
Meridian Bank Stock Performance
Shares of MRBK stock opened at $18.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $19.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.00. Meridian Bank has a 52 week low of $11.16 and a 52 week high of $21.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.06 million, a PE ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.76.
Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.55 by $0.06. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The company had revenue of $34.44 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.41 million. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current year.
Meridian Bank Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Meridian Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Meridian Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.63%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Fourthstone LLC grew its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,121,775 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,721,000 after acquiring an additional 49,561 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. raised its stake in Meridian Bank by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. now owns 437,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,695,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Meridian Bank by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 395,283 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,949,000 after purchasing an additional 33,357 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Meridian Bank by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 213,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in shares of Meridian Bank by 99.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 171,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,712,000 after purchasing an additional 85,562 shares during the period. 58.56% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.