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

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) had its price target cut by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $120.00 to $110.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ target price points to a potential upside of 21.88% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on MCB. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 4th. UBS Group began coverage on Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Metropolitan Bank from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $103.50.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Performance

Shares of MCB opened at $90.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Metropolitan Bank has a 52-week low of $64.66 and a 52-week high of $102.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $94.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.32. The company has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42 and a beta of 1.00.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.30 by ($0.76). Metropolitan Bank had a return on equity of 10.72% and a net margin of 14.31%.The company had revenue of $93.01 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $93.39 million.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Harvey Gutman sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.58, for a total value of $268,740.00. Following the sale, the director owned 18,243 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,634,207.94. This represents a 14.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,807 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 22,202 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,229,524.84. The trade was a 7.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 19,897 shares of company stock worth $1,874,352 over the last ninety days. 5.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCB. Emerald Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Metropolitan Bank in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 70.4% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank during the third quarter worth about $48,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 41.5% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,670 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 490 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.83% of the company’s stock.

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.