Short Interest in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Grows By 45.2%

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

Bank of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock traded up $0.81 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $96.32. 275,855 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 848,344. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $99.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a market cap of $70.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.80, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.07. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $106.00.

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

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1094 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 29th. This represents a $4.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.61%. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price 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. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com raised Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $128.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 194,218 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $18,855,000 after buying an additional 14,351 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 buying an additional 64,799 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,618 shares of the bank’s stock worth $448,000 after acquiring an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its position in Bank of Montreal by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 478,191 shares of the bank’s stock worth $46,399,000 after acquiring an additional 12,052 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.