Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Shares of Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $99.07, but opened at $87.30. Metropolitan Bank shares last traded at $89.4520, with a volume of 70,193 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.76). Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 15.89%.The company had revenue of $93.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.39 million.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. This is a boost from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $105.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group started coverage on Metropolitan Bank in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised Metropolitan Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Metropolitan Bank presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.42, for a total value of $181,458.94. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 22,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,229,524.84. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Harvey Gutman sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total transaction of $268,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,243 shares in the company, valued at $1,634,207.94. This represents a 14.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,897 shares of company stock valued at $1,874,352. 5.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Metropolitan Bank

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,473,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in Metropolitan Bank by 611.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 141,613 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,795,000 after acquiring an additional 121,721 shares during the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 272.0% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Metropolitan Bank by 26.0% in the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 8,112 shares of the company’s stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 1,676 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Metropolitan Bank by 6.3% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 6,026 shares of the company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

Metropolitan Bank Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $94.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.22. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.10 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02.

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.