Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) Raised to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) was upgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

MRBK has been the subject of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $22.00 price target (up from $20.00) on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Meridian Bank in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price target on shares of Meridian Bank from $21.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $22.00.

Meridian Bank Stock Down 0.4%

MRBK stock opened at $18.69 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $19.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.01. The company has a market cap of $222.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.89 and a beta of 0.76. Meridian Bank has a 12-month low of $11.16 and a 12-month high of $21.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Meridian Bank (NASDAQ:MRBK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The company reported $0.61 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.55 by $0.06. Meridian Bank had a net margin of 10.63% and a return on equity of 11.81%. The business had revenue of $34.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.41 million. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Meridian Bank will post 2.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Meridian Bank

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Key Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Meridian Bank during the third quarter worth approximately $917,000. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Meridian Bank during the third quarter worth $946,000. Fourthstone LLC raised its stake in Meridian Bank by 40.4% during the 2nd quarter. Fourthstone LLC now owns 1,084,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,977,000 after purchasing an additional 311,870 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC bought a new stake in Meridian Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,996,000. Finally, Meridian Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Meridian Bank by 16.1% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Wealth Partners LLC now owns 139,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,801,000 after purchasing an additional 19,346 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 58.56% of the company’s stock.

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.