Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.03 EPS

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) issued its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.51 by ($0.03), Zacks reports. Meridian Bank had a return on equity of 12.61% and a net margin of 11.68%.

Meridian Bank Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of Meridian Bank stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $20.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 69,451 shares, compared to its average volume of 111,178. Meridian Bank has a one year low of $13.81 and a one year high of $21.67. The company has a market capitalization of $238.28 million, a P/E ratio of 9.68 and a beta of 0.65. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $19.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MRBK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Meridian Bank from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Piper Sandler set a $21.00 price objective on shares of Meridian Bank and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Meridian Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 18th. DA Davidson raised their target price on Meridian Bank from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Meridian Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $22.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meridian Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meridian Bank by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 213,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,747,000 after acquiring an additional 1,232 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in Meridian Bank by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 42,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $743,000 after purchasing an additional 1,634 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Meridian Bank by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 25,530 shares of the company’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,051 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Meridian Bank by 125.9% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 4,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 2,331 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised 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 purchasing an additional 3,152 shares during the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.