M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Short Interest Up 30.0% in February

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) was the target of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,680,000 shares, a growth of 30.0% from the February 13th total of 3,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Approximately 2.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTB traded down $1.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $174.46. The stock had a trading volume of 730,677 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,015,448. The company has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $192.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. M&T Bank has a 1 year low of $133.03 and a 1 year high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.12%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that M&T Bank will post 16.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,827.34. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of M&T Bank

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in M&T Bank by 14.3% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 14,110,412 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,652,899,000 after acquiring an additional 1,761,014 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $317,690,000. State Street Corp raised its position in M&T Bank by 6.4% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,562,725,000 after acquiring an additional 527,854 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in M&T Bank by 22.3% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,567,270 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $294,662,000 after acquiring an additional 286,049 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $48,939,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup downgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research report on Monday, November 25th. DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of M&T Bank from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Compass Point increased their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.03.

M&T Bank Company Profile

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.