Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Short Interest Down 19.3% in April

Key Points

• Short interest fell 19.3% in April to 549,498 shares (about 4.7% of shares short), with a days-to-cover ratio of 2.9 based on average daily volume.
• Metropolitan Bank beat Q1 estimates, reporting EPS of $2.92 vs. $2.19 expected and revenue of $88.49M, with a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 15.89%.
• The firm raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 (annualized $1.00, yield 1.1%), while analysts have been upgrading coverage—consensus rating is "Buy" with an average target of $95 and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosting its target to $109.

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 549,498 shares, a decrease of 19.3% from the March 31st total of 680,953 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 191,732 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days. Approximately 4.7% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of Metropolitan Bank stock traded down $0.39 during trading on Thursday, hitting $88.31. The stock had a trading volume of 128,015 shares, compared to its average volume of 176,641. The business has a fifty day moving average of $85.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $81.32. Metropolitan Bank has a fifty-two week low of $60.22 and a fifty-two week high of $97.84. The firm has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.13. 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 (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The company reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.19 by $0.73. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 15.89%.The firm had revenue of $88.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.33 million.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 12th. Investors of record on Friday, May 1st will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 1st. This is an increase from Metropolitan Bank's previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Metropolitan Bank's payout ratio is presently 9.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Zacks Research raised Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $95.00.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Patriot Financial Partners GP II L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the 3rd quarter valued at $57,229,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 114.8% during the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 559,479 shares of the company's stock worth $42,722,000 after purchasing an additional 299,061 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 236,946 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 valued at $13,345,000 after purchasing an additional 62,327 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 363.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 64,832 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,951,000 after purchasing an additional 50,844 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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