Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) from “buy” to “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst picture that still leaves the stock with an overall average “buy” rating and a $103.50 target price.
• The company reported weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings, posting $1.54 EPS versus the $2.30 consensus estimate, while revenue of $93.01 million was roughly in line with expectations.
• Insider selling and recent institutional activity have been notable, with directors and executives selling shares over the past 90 days, while institutional investors such as Arrowstreet Capital and others increased their stakes.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Metropolitan Bank from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Metropolitan Bank in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $97.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Metropolitan Bank has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $103.50.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

NYSE MCB opened at $91.31 on Friday. Metropolitan Bank has a 1 year low of $64.66 and a 1 year high of $102.04. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.50 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The company has a market cap of $1.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $93.39 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director directly owned 86,185 shares in the company, valued at $8,309,095.85. This represents a 10.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,807 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 22,202 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,229,524.84. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,897 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,352. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company's stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in 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 valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. 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. Quantbot Technologies LP boosted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 39.2% in the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 854.7% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,747 shares of the company's stock worth $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 37,374 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.83% of the company's stock.

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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