Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.14 EPS

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) posted its earnings results on Thursday. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.50 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 13.68% and a return on equity of 10.67%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.50 earnings per share.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

MCB stock traded up $0.38 during trading on Monday, reaching $78.34. 133,134 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 94,072. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $68.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $61.91. Metropolitan Bank has a 52-week low of $40.21 and a 52-week high of $80.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $835.05 million, a P/E ratio of 12.69 and a beta of 1.08.

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Investors of record on Monday, July 28th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 28th.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that permits the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 6.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Hovde Group upped their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $81.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday.

Insider Transactions at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 23,114 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.43, for a total transaction of $1,512,349.02. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 94,185 shares in the company, valued at $6,162,524.55. This trade represents a 19.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 20,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.43, for a total transaction of $1,342,427.31. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 94,185 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,162,524.55. The trade was a 17.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 61,450 shares of company stock worth $4,005,911 in the last three months. 6.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company's stock worth $350,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company's stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 5.3% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,367,000 after buying an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

About Metropolitan Bank

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. operates as the bank holding company for Metropolitan Commercial Bank that provides a range of business, commercial, and retail banking products and services to small businesses, middle-market enterprises, public entities, and individuals in the New York metropolitan area.