Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $97.97 and last traded at $98.33, with a volume of 4729 shares. The stock had previously closed at $97.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCB shares. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings raised Metropolitan Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company’s fifty day moving average is $90.61 and its 200-day moving average is $86.49. The company has a market cap of $1.21 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 1.01.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $88.49 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 1st. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.32%.

Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank

In other news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were 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 represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.41, for a total transaction of $964,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 86,185 shares in the company, valued at $8,309,095.85. This trade represents a 10.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,000 shares of company stock worth $1,683,890. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Emerald Advisers LLC bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 3rd quarter worth $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the 4th quarter worth $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 41.5% in the 2nd 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 period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Metropolitan Bank

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.