Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Short Interest Down 26.8% in February
by Tristan Rich · The Markets DailyMeridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK – Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 105,253 shares, a decrease of 26.8% from the February 12th total of 143,819 shares. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,631 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 68,631 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 1.1% of the shares of the company are sold short.
Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian Bank
Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Meridian Bank during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in Meridian Bank by 125.9% in the third 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Meridian Bank by 26,887.5% in the second 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 position in Meridian Bank during the 2nd quarter valued at $64,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Meridian Bank by 166.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,103 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 3,814 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MRBK shares. DA Davidson boosted their price target on Meridian Bank from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $22.00 price objective (up from $20.00) on shares of Meridian Bank in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.
View Our Latest Analysis on Meridian Bank
Meridian Bank Stock Up 1.1%
MRBK traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $18.86. 89,321 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 82,850. Meridian Bank has a fifty-two week low of $11.16 and a fifty-two week high of $21.67. The company has a market cap of $217.27 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.90.
Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK – Get Free Report) last posted 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 12.14%. The company had revenue of $34.44 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.41 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Meridian Bank Increases Dividend
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 9th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from Meridian Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 9th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. Meridian Bank’s payout ratio is 29.63%.
Meridian Bank Company Profile
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.