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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Metropolitan Bank Trading Up 0.3%

The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market cap of $1.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.01. The company’s 50-day moving average is $89.45 and its 200 day moving average is $85.44.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.19 by $0.73. The business had revenue of $88.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st were given 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 payout ratio is currently 12.32%.

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 70.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake 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 valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

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.