Ranger Investment Management L.P. Invests $10.85 Million in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. $MCB

Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 109,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,849,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the period. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 0.3% during the third quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 69,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,226,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 237 shares during the period. Emerald Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 6.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,026 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after buying an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of MCB opened at $91.98 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. has a 1-year low of $64.66 and a 1-year high of $102.04. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.24 and a 200 day moving average of $90.60.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.76). The company had revenue of $93.01 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.39 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.22% and a net margin of 14.31%.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 31st were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 31st. Metropolitan Bank’s payout ratio is currently 17.72%.

Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, CFO Daniel F. Dougherty bought 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $89.98 per share, for a total transaction of $89,980.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 33,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,987,066.06. This represents a 3.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.29, for a total value of $922,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 76,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,031,113.65. This represents a 11.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 29,897 shares of company stock worth $2,797,252 in the last ninety days. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCB has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Friday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut Metropolitan Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 25th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.00.

Metropolitan Bank 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.