Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) & Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) Critical Contrast

Republic Bancorp (NASDAQ:RBCAA) and Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) are both small-cap finance companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Republic Bancorp and Metropolitan Bank’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Republic Bancorp	25.38%	11.20%	1.77%
Metropolitan Bank	14.31%	10.22%	1.01%

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Republic Bancorp and Metropolitan Bank”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Republic Bancorp	$521.34 million	3.60	$131.32 million	$6.55	14.58
Metropolitan Bank	$527.15 million	2.17	$71.10 million	$7.90	11.67

Republic Bancorp has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Metropolitan Bank. Metropolitan Bank is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Republic Bancorp, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Volatility & Risk

Republic Bancorp has a beta of 0.53, meaning that its stock price is 47% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Metropolitan Bank has a beta of 0.97, meaning that its stock price is 3% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Republic Bancorp pays an annual dividend of $1.98 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Metropolitan Bank pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.5%. Republic Bancorp pays out 30.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Metropolitan Bank pays out 17.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Republic Bancorp has increased its dividend for 27 consecutive years. Republic Bancorp is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Republic Bancorp and Metropolitan Bank, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Republic Bancorp	0	3	1	0	2.25
Metropolitan Bank	0	1	2	1	3.00

Republic Bancorp currently has a consensus price target of $98.00, indicating a potential upside of 2.60%. Metropolitan Bank has a consensus price target of $105.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.88%. Given Metropolitan Bank’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Metropolitan Bank is more favorable than Republic Bancorp.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

24.4% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.8% of Metropolitan Bank shares are held by institutional investors. 55.9% of Republic Bancorp shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 5.5% of Metropolitan Bank shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

About Republic Bancorp

Republic Bancorp, Inc. operates as a bank holding company for Republic Bank & Trust Company that provides various banking products and services in the United States. It operates in six segments: Traditional Banking, Warehouse, Mortgage Banking, Tax Refund Solutions, Republic Payment Solutions, and Republic Credit Solutions. The company offers demand, money market accounts, savings, individual retirement accounts, time, brokered, and other certificates of deposit; and retail and commercial mortgage, construction and land development, consumer, aircraft, and marine loans. It also provides credit cards; title insurance and other financial products and services; and private banking, lockbox processing, remote deposit capture, business online banking, account reconciliation, automated clearing house processing, and internet and mobile banking services. In addition, it offers short-term and revolving credit facilities to mortgage bankers through mortgage warehouse lines of credit; mortgage banking; tax refund solutions, which facilitate the receipt and payment of federal and state tax refund products through third-party tax preparers and tax-preparation software providers; payments-related products and services to consumers through third party service providers; and consumer credit products. The company offers its services through full-services banking centers in Kentucky, Indiana, Florida, Ohio, and Tennessee. Republic Bancorp, Inc. was incorporated in 1974 and is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky.

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. The company offers checking, savings, term deposit, money market, demand deposit, and other interest-bearing transaction accounts. It also provides lending products, including commercial real estate, multi-family, construction, and one-to four-family real estate loans; commercial and industrial loans; consumer loans; acquisition and renovation loans; loans to refinance or return borrower equity; loans on owner-occupied properties; working capital lines of credit; trade finance and letters of credit; and term loans. In addition, the company offers cash management services, as well as online and mobile banking, ACH, remote deposit capture, and debit cards. The company was formerly known as Metbank Holding Corp. and changed its name to Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. in January 2007. Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in New York, New York.