Short Interest in Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) Drops By 18.9%

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 470,383 shares, a decrease of 18.9% from the January 15th total of 579,657 shares. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 257,135 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 257,135 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 4.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCB traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $93.34. The company had a trading volume of 65,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,784. Metropolitan Bank has a twelve month low of $47.08 and a twelve month high of $97.84. The stock has a market cap of $961.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.04 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $84.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $77.49.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 20th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.07 by $0.70. Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 9.73% and a net margin of 13.49%.The company had revenue of $88.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.15 million. On average, research analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 27th were issued a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 27th. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Metropolitan Bank’s payout ratio is 12.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total transaction of $112,762.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 25,839 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,330,936.19. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.99, for a total transaction of $949,900.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 88,685 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,424,188.15. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 16,320 shares of company stock worth $1,523,103 in the last quarter. Insiders own 6.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 3.9% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $350,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 5.3% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 42,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 2,126 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the second quarter worth about $244,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 107.3% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 148,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,378,000 after purchasing an additional 76,745 shares during the period. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCB shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Metropolitan Bank Company Profile

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.