Short Interest in Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Expands By 45.7%

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 8,718,062 shares, an increase of 45.7% from the January 15th total of 5,982,070 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,114,501 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.8 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,114,501 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.8 days. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE:BMO traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $141.01. The stock had a trading volume of 1,705,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $99.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 0.94. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $134.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $127.22. Bank Of Montreal has a 52 week low of $85.40 and a 52 week high of $146.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, December 4th. The bank reported $2.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.16 by $0.20. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.76% and a net margin of 11.13%.The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 7.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is an increase from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 30th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 59.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Code Waechter LLC increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 17,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,121 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $276,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Finally, Choreo LLC grew its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 3.6% during the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 2,735 shares of the bank’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BMO. Natl Bk Canada lowered shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, December 1st. Raymond James Financial upgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Securities upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Bank Of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Company Profile

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.