Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Metropolitan Bank Trading Up 0.4%

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 stock’s 50 day moving average price is $89.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 1.01.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.73. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 15.89% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $88.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $87.33 million.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 1st were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. This is a positive change 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 12.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 3,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director directly owned 18,243 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,634,207.94. The trade was a 14.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $451,050.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 96,185 shares in the company, valued at $8,676,848.85. The trade was a 4.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCB. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Metropolitan Bank during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 41.5% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $117,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.