Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) Short Interest Update

Meridian Co. (NASDAQ:MRBK) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,900 shares, an increase of 36.9% from the December 31st total of 6,500 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 22,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.4 days.

Meridian Stock Up 0.7 %

MRBK stock traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.72. The company had a trading volume of 47,888 shares, compared to its average volume of 34,190. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $15.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $13.33. The company has a market capitalization of $187.93 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.81. Meridian has a 52 week low of $8.26 and a 52 week high of $17.33.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Meridian will post 1.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Meridian Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a $0.125 dividend. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. Meridian’s payout ratio is 34.48%.

Institutional Trading of Meridian

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Meridian in the 3rd quarter valued at $128,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Meridian by 10.0% in 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Meridian by 3.1% in the third 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. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Meridian by 6.5% during the second 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 during the period. Finally, Banc Funds Co. LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 37,450 shares in the last quarter. 58.56% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.