Hovde Group Begins Coverage on Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB)

Hovde Group assumed coverage on shares of Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) in a report issued on Thursday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $65.50 price target on the stock.

MCB has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $55.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an outperform rating and issued a $67.50 price target (up from $55.00) on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd.

Metropolitan Bank Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of MCB stock opened at $52.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $586.74 million, a P/E ratio of 8.62 and a beta of 1.13. Metropolitan Bank has a 1 year low of $30.20 and a 1 year high of $57.69. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $43.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 18th. The company reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.57 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $121.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $68.02 million. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 15.22% and a return on equity of 10.47%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Metropolitan Bank will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 34,986 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.34, for a total transaction of $1,936,125.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,208 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,028,050.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Scott Lublin sold 1,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,145,513.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Mark R. Defazio sold 34,986 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.34, for a total transaction of $1,936,125.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,208 shares in the company, valued at $10,028,050.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCB. Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the second quarter worth about $27,000. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 70.1% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Metropolitan Bank in the first quarter valued at approximately $103,000. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 104.5% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $189,000 after buying an additional 2,300 shares during the last quarter. 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.