Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $81.00 to $95.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Metropolitan Bank traded as high as $80.20 and last traded at $79.28, with a volume of 286376 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $76.32.

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th.

Insider Activity

In other Metropolitan Bank news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $93,812.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 29,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,220,654.45. This trade represents a 4.05% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.64, for a total transaction of $393,200.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 46,179 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,631,516.56. This represents a 9.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 72,824 shares of company stock worth $4,899,390. Corporate insiders own 6.09% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royce & Associates LP lifted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 749.4% during the first quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 316,191 shares of the company's stock worth $17,704,000 after buying an additional 278,966 shares in the last quarter. Philadelphia Financial Management of San Francisco LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the first quarter valued at about $12,602,000. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $12,109,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the first quarter valued at about $10,206,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 1,726.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,280 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,718,000 after purchasing an additional 141,107 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $804.30 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.83 and a 200 day moving average of $62.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 13.68%. The firm had revenue of $76.27 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $72.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. will post 7.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Metropolitan Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 28th.

Metropolitan Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, July 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $50.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

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.