Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Hovde Group

Research analysts at Hovde Group initiated coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) in a report issued on Thursday, StockNewsAPI reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $65.50 price target on the stock. Hovde Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.11% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $67.50 price target (up previously from $55.00) on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE MCB opened at $51.53 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $576.78 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $43.40. Metropolitan Bank has a 52-week low of $30.20 and a 52-week high of $57.69.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $121.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $68.02 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 10.47%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Metropolitan Bank will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Metropolitan Bank news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 1,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total transaction of $55,385.55. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 57,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,145,513.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 34,986 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.34, for a total transaction of $1,936,125.24. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,208 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,028,050.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 1,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.11, for a total value of $55,385.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 57,077 shares in the company, valued at $3,145,513.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCB. Banc Funds Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Banc Funds Co. LLC now owns 235,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,051,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares in the last quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 226.5% in the 4th quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 159,279 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,821,000 after acquiring an additional 110,493 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 146,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,117,000 after acquiring an additional 5,575 shares during the period. Cox Capital Mgt LLC increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.9% in the 1st quarter. Cox Capital Mgt LLC now owns 11,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $439,000 after acquiring an additional 1,214 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at $103,000. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.