Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) saw a significant decrease in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 6,500 shares, a decrease of 38.7% from the November 30th total of 10,600 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 17,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Meridian Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MRBK opened at $13.84 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Meridian has a fifty-two week low of $8.26 and a fifty-two week high of $17.33. The stock has a market cap of $155.56 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70 and a beta of 0.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $14.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.57.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $51.15 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $26.57 million. Meridian had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 6.99%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Meridian will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Meridian’s payout ratio is currently 49.50%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MRBK. DA Davidson increased their target price 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 increased their price objective on Meridian from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Meridian

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Meridian in the third quarter valued at approximately $128,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Meridian by 10.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 40,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $511,000 after buying an additional 3,675 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Meridian by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 93,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 2,838 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Meridian by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 171,249 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after acquiring an additional 10,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Banc Funds Co. LLC lifted its position in Meridian by 4.7% in the third quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 829,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,480,000 after acquiring an additional 37,450 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

About Meridian

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.