Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Up 45.6% in January

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,950,000 shares, an increase of 45.6% from the January 15th total of 7,520,000 shares. Approximately 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 646,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 16.9 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,014,633,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 261.6% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 4,249,552 shares of the bank’s stock worth $383,449,000 after acquiring an additional 3,074,389 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 42.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,838,171 shares of the bank’s stock worth $664,742,000 after purchasing an additional 2,044,862 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 14.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 11,812,353 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,065,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,534,508 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 1,527.7% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,160,494 shares of the bank’s stock worth $112,626,000 after purchasing an additional 1,089,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

Shares of BMO opened at $101.08 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.57 and a 200-day moving average of $92.55. The company has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $76.98 and a 1 year high of $104.63.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 63.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BMO. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank raised Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.00.

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.