Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $96.82 and last traded at $94.6510, with a volume of 102041 shares. The stock had previously closed at $94.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCB has been the subject of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Metropolitan Bank from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Metropolitan Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $92.00.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $974.91 million, a PE ratio of 14.23 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.35.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.70. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 13.49%.The business had revenue of $88.41 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.15 million. Equities research analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Metropolitan Bank’s payout ratio is presently 12.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $112,762.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,330,936.19. This trade represents a 4.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.99, for a total transaction of $949,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 88,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,424,188.15. This represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 16,320 shares of company stock worth $1,523,103 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 6.09% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the third quarter valued at about $48,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Daytona Street Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter valued at about $199,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at about $201,000. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.