Short Interest in Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) Grows By 68.5%

Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 15,500 shares, a growth of 68.5% from the January 15th total of 9,200 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 35,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Meridian Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of Meridian stock opened at $16.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Meridian has a 12-month low of $8.26 and a 12-month high of $17.33. The company has a market cap of $188.61 million, a P/E ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 0.83. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $15.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $13.65.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.14. Meridian had a return on equity of 10.01% and a net margin of 8.28%. Research analysts anticipate that Meridian will post 2.07 EPS for the current year.

Meridian Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. Meridian’s payout ratio is currently 34.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Meridian from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Meridian from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Meridian

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in Meridian during the 3rd quarter valued at about $128,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Meridian during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $139,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Meridian by 10.0% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 3,675 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in Meridian by 122.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 44,707 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,000 after acquiring an additional 24,648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Meridian by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 93,534 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Meridian Company Profile

Meridian Corporation operates as the holding company for Meridian Bank that provides commercial banking products and services in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Florida, and Maryland. The company offers various deposit products, such as demand non-interest bearing, demand interest bearing, savings accounts, money market accounts, and time deposits.