Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The company traded as high as $82.66 and last traded at $82.8950, with a volume of 3494 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $81.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Down 3.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $818.75 million, a PE ratio of 13.80 and a beta of 1.13.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.95 by ($1.28). The business had revenue of $79.84 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $78.28 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 8.71%. On average, equities analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 30th were issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 30th. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 10.42%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 625 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $50,256.25. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,178,226.49. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.36, for a total transaction of $371,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 41,179 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,062,070.44. This trade represents a 10.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 1,167 shares of company stock valued at $83,010. 6.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 41.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 490 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System bought a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Systematic Alpha Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB), through its principal subsidiary Metropolitan Commercial Bank, operates as a New York–based regional financial institution providing a range of commercial and consumer banking services. The company offers deposit products including checking, savings and money market accounts, as well as business and personal certificates of deposit. On the lending side, Metropolitan Bank extends commercial real estate financing, equipment loans, working capital lines of credit and consumer installment loans tailored to the needs of small- and medium-sized enterprises and individual customers.

In addition to traditional deposit and lending services, Metropolitan Bank provides specialized treasury and cash-management solutions, foreign exchange services and letters of credit for both domestic businesses and multinational clients.