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

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) shares hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $97.84 and last traded at $96.7910, with a volume of 6376 shares. The stock had previously closed at $96.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.01. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $89.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.73. The firm had revenue of $88.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.33 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 10.95%.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $451,050.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 96,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,676,848.85. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Harvey Gutman sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total transaction of $268,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,634,207.94. This trade represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCB. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 3.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 5.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 39.2% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 854.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 37,374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.