Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) to Issue $0.14 Quarterly Dividend

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 10th will be given a dividend of 0.14 per share on Monday, August 17th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 10th.

Meridian Bank has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3%per year over the last three years. Meridian Bank has a payout ratio of 26.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Meridian Bank to earn $2.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.2%.

Meridian Bank Stock Down 1.5%

MRBK opened at $20.04 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.20. Meridian Bank has a 12 month low of $13.81 and a 12 month high of $21.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $238.28 million, a P/E ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.65. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $0.48 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.51 by ($0.03). Meridian Bank had a net margin of 11.68% and a return on equity of 12.61%. The business had revenue of $32.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $34.31 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meridian Bank will post 1.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MRBK shares. Weiss Ratings cut Meridian Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price target on Meridian Bank and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. DA Davidson boosted their target price on shares of Meridian Bank from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meridian Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Finally, Zacks Research cut shares of Meridian Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

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.