Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded 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 reduced their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. One investment 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $103.50.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of MCB stock opened at $91.31 on Friday. 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 has a 1 year low of $64.66 and a 1 year high of $102.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $94.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.76). The company had revenue of $93.01 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.39 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.42, for a total value of $181,458.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,524.84. This trade represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.41, for a total transaction of $964,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 86,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,309,095.85. This represents a 10.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 19,897 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,352 over the last 90 days. 5.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 114.8% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 559,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,722,000 after acquiring an additional 299,061 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 66.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 592,799 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,266,000 after acquiring an additional 236,946 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 611.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 141,613 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,795,000 after acquiring an additional 121,721 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 53.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 178,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,345,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 363.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,951,000 after purchasing an additional 50,844 shares during the period. 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.