Metropolitan Bank (NYSE:MCB) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp. (NYSE:MCB) gapped up prior to trading on Friday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $60.98, but opened at $63.29. Metropolitan Bank shares last traded at $64.90, with a volume of 17,476 shares trading hands.

The company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.49 by $0.39. Metropolitan Bank had a net margin of 12.47% and a return on equity of 10.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Metropolitan Bank from $73.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Metropolitan Bank from $67.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Hovde Group raised their price target on Metropolitan Bank from $65.50 to $68.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Robert C. Patent sold 1,000 shares of Metropolitan Bank stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.32, for a total value of $55,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 79,133 shares in the company, valued at $4,377,637.56. This trade represents a 1.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Scott Lublin sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.77, for a total transaction of $176,310.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 52,253 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,070,908.81. The trade was a 5.43 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,250 shares of company stock worth $313,093. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCB. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. grew its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 176.8% in the 3rd quarter. Basswood Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 607,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,958,000 after purchasing an additional 388,200 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 31.7% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 130,340 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,486,000 after buying an additional 31,397 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Metropolitan Bank in the 2nd quarter valued at about $4,991,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 112.4% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 89,193 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,690,000 after acquiring an additional 47,193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Metropolitan Bank by 44.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 82,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,751,000 after buying an additional 25,654 shares in the last quarter. 79.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Metropolitan Bank Stock Up 5.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $62.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.66. The company has a market capitalization of $723.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.20 and a beta of 1.17.

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.