Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Price Target to $110.00

Key Points

• Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered its price target on Metropolitan Bank to $110 from $120, while keeping an outperform rating. The new target still implies about 21.9% upside from the current price.
• The stock has drawn mixed analyst views overall, but the consensus remains Buy with an average price target of $103.50. UBS is more cautious, rating it neutral with a $97 target.
• Metropolitan Bank shares fell 8.9% to $90.25 after the update, and the company also recently reported earnings of $1.54 per share, well below the $2.30 consensus estimate.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $120.00 to $110.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' price objective would suggest a potential upside of 21.88% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on MCB. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. Weiss Ratings raised Metropolitan Bank from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, UBS Group initiated coverage on Metropolitan Bank in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.50.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Down 8.9%

Shares of Metropolitan Bank stock opened at $90.25 on Thursday. Metropolitan Bank has a 52-week low of $64.66 and a 52-week high of $102.04. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.36 and a 200 day moving average of $89.32. 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 has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.00.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.76). Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The firm had revenue of $93.01 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $93.39 million.

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the firm's 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,807 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.42, for a total transaction of $181,458.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,202 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,229,524.84. This represents a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,897 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,352 in the last three months. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank in the third quarter valued at about $2,185,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 178,363 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,345,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. UBS Group AG increased its position in Metropolitan Bank by 363.5% during the 4th 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. Finally, Diversified Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 1st quarter worth approximately $223,000. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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