Meridian Corp (MRBK) to Distribute Quarterly Dividend of $0.14 on November 16th

Meridian Corp (NASDAQ:MRBK) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, October 30th. Investors of record on Monday, November 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share on Monday, November 16th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 9th.

Meridian has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.3% annually over the last three years. Meridian has a payout ratio of 26.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Meridian to earn $2.10 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 26.7%.

Meridian Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MRBK opened at $16.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 0.65. Meridian has a twelve month low of $13.92 and a twelve month high of $21.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $18.85 and its 200-day moving average is $19.21.

Meridian (NASDAQ:MRBK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, October 30th. The company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $30.14 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.05 million. Meridian had a return on equity of 11.37% and a net margin of 11.46%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Meridian will post 1.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MRBK shares. DA Davidson lowered shares of Meridian from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $22.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $20.00 price target (down from $24.00) on shares of Meridian in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Meridian from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Meridian from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.00.

About Meridian

Meridian Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania. Through its principal subsidiary, Meridian Bank, the company provides commercial and community banking services to businesses, professionals and individuals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Meridian Bank offers business lending, commercial real estate financing, construction loans, equipment financing, residential and consumer lending, deposit accounts, cash-management services and online banking. The company also provides mortgage banking and wealth management services, including investment and financial planning solutions.

Meridian was established in 2004 and serves customers through a network of banking offices in southeastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey and surrounding markets.