Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Now Covered by Analysts at UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS initiated coverage on Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) with a neutral rating and a $97 price target, implying roughly an 8.99% upside from the current price.
• Multiple analysts have recently upgraded MCB (Zacks, Weiss, Wall Street Zen) and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its target to $105, leaving a consensus Buy rating and an average target of $93.67.
• Metropolitan Bank reported an EPS beat ($2.77 vs. $2.07), has a $1.11B market cap and a P/E of 13.41, but insiders sold 15,695 shares in the last 90 days and currently own about 5.5% of the stock.

UBS Group started coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. UBS Group's price objective indicates a potential upside of 8.99% from the company's current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Zacks Research raised Metropolitan Bank from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. 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 increased their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Metropolitan Bank has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $93.67.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

NYSE MCB traded down $0.74 on Thursday, hitting $89.00. 5,366 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,762. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $86.31 and a 200-day moving average of $80.30. The stock has a market cap of $1.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41 and a beta of 1.13. Metropolitan Bank has a 52 week low of $51.83 and a 52 week high of $97.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

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

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

In other Metropolitan Bank news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $112,762.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 25,839 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,330,936.19. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director 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. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 15,695 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,847 in the last ninety days. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 70.4% during the 4th 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 bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

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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