Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.70 EPS

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.07 by $0.70, Zacks reports. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 8.71% and a net margin of 12.46%.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCB traded up $0.16 on Tuesday, hitting $79.66. The stock had a trading volume of 101,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 121,104. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Metropolitan Bank has a twelve month low of $47.08 and a twelve month high of $83.48. The company has a market capitalization of $820.54 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 1.13.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, January 27th. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 625 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.41, for a total value of $50,256.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,089 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,178,226.49. The trade was a 2.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Daniel F. Dougherty bought 1,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 27th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $71.66 per share, for a total transaction of $71,660.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 27,341 shares in the company, valued at $1,959,256.06. This represents a 3.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have purchased a total of 1,167 shares of company stock valued at $83,010 over the last three months. 6.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 778 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 237 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in 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 Metropolitan Bank by 39.2% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 6,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 854.7% during the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 41,747 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,922,000 after buying an additional 37,374 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Metropolitan Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.50.

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.