Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Stock Price

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) had its target price increased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $81.00 to $95.00 in a report published on Monday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Separately, Hovde Group boosted their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $75.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

MCB opened at $78.01 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $831.58 million, a P/E ratio of 12.64 and a beta of 1.08. Metropolitan Bank has a 12-month low of $40.21 and a 12-month high of $80.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.43 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.04.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 17th. The company reported $1.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $76.27 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $72.50 million. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 13.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Metropolitan Bank will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Metropolitan Bank Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 23,114 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.43, for a total value of $1,512,349.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 94,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,162,524.55. This trade represents a 19.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Dixiana M. Berrios sold 6,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total transaction of $400,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 13,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $870,784. This trade represents a 31.48% 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 quarter. Company insiders own 6.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 289.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 443 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Metropolitan Bank during the 4th quarter worth about $12,109,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 1,726.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 149,280 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,718,000 after acquiring an additional 141,107 shares during the last quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 31.8% in the 1st quarter. Sippican Capital Advisors now owns 24,121 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,351,000 after buying an additional 5,825 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Metropolitan Bank by 25.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 6,511 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 1,320 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

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.