Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Update

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,520,000 shares, an increase of 45.2% from the February 28th total of 5,180,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 602,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 12.5 days.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.2 %

Bank of Montreal stock traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $95.48. 535,815 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 850,590. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $99.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.97. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $76.98 and a 52-week high of $106.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The bank reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $1.36. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 10.18% and a net margin of 9.22%. The business’s revenue was up 20.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be paid a dividend of $1.1094 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.65%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of BMO. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 708,767 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $68,786,000 after acquiring an additional 40,135 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 194,218 shares of the bank’s stock worth $18,855,000 after purchasing an additional 14,351 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,913,716 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $185,694,000 after purchasing an additional 64,799 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 58.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 478,191 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,399,000 after acquiring an additional 12,052 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BMO. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from $161.00 to $163.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, CIBC upgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. It operates through Canadian P&C, U.S P&C, BMO Wealth Management, and BMO Capital Markets segments. The company’s personal banking products and services include deposits, mortgages, home lending, consumer credit, small business lending, credit cards, cash management, financial and investment advice, and other banking services; and commercial banking products and services comprise various of financing options and treasury and payment solutions, as well as risk management products.