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

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) saw a large decrease in short interest in 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 company’s stock are sold short. 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 company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Metropolitan Bank in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Metropolitan Bank from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

Insider Activity at Metropolitan Bank

In related news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 10,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.99, for a total value of $949,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 88,685 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,424,188.15. This trade represents a 10.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Nick Rosenberg sold 1,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.21, for a total value of $112,762.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 16,320 shares of company stock valued at $1,523,103 in the last three months. 6.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Metropolitan Bank

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Metropolitan Bank by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 7,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after buying an additional 778 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 3.9% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 237 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,126 shares during the last quarter. Corton Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at $244,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Metropolitan Bank by 107.3% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 0.8%

MCB stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $93.34. 65,273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 163,784. The company 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 quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Metropolitan Bank has a 1-year low of $47.08 and a 1-year high of $97.84. The stock’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 net margin of 13.49% and a return on equity of 9.73%. The business had revenue of $88.41 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $83.15 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Metropolitan Bank will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Metropolitan Bank Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 27th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 27th. This is a positive change from Metropolitan Bank’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Metropolitan Bank’s dividend payout ratio is 12.03%.

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.