Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Consensus "Buy": Five analysts rate Metropolitan Bank (MCB) a consensus Buy with an average 12‑month target of $93.67, and notable upgrades include Keefe raising its target to $105 while Zacks and Weiss moved to strong‑buy/buy.
• Earnings beat: The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.77 vs. $2.07 expected and revenue of $88.41M vs. $83.15M, with a market cap of about $1.10B and a P/E of 13.33.
• Insider selling and dividend: Insiders sold 15,695 shares (~$1.47M) in the last 90 days (insiders own 5.5%) while institutional ownership is ~79.8%; the bank raised its quarterly dividend to $0.20 (annualized $0.80, ~0.9% yield).

Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Buy" by the five analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $93.6667.

A number of research analysts have issued reports 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. UBS Group began coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday. They set a "neutral" rating and a $97.00 price target for the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Insider Buying and Selling at Metropolitan Bank

In other Metropolitan Bank news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $112,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,839 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,330,936.19. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.99, for a total transaction of $949,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 88,685 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,424,188.15. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,695 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,847 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 5.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 346 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue purchased a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Metropolitan Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 41.5% during the second 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 last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:MCB traded down $0.56 on Thursday, hitting $88.65. 12,157 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,368. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $86.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $80.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Metropolitan Bank has a 52 week low of $53.32 and a 52 week high of $97.84. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.13.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.70. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 9.69%. The company had revenue of $88.41 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $83.15 million. As a group, analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. This is an increase from Metropolitan Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Metropolitan Bank's payout ratio is 12.03%.

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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