Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 5,228,631 shares, a growth of 24.1% from the March 31st total of 4,212,589 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 610,980 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 8.6 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on BMO shares. National Bank Financial reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research cut Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays cut Bank Of Montreal from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial upgraded Bank Of Montreal from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Code Waechter LLC increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. now owns 11,215 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 4.6% during 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of BMO stock traded up $0.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $152.63. The stock had a trading volume of 471,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 724,685. Bank Of Montreal has a 12-month low of $97.00 and a 12-month high of $154.48. The company has a market cap of $106.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The bank reported $2.51 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.35 by $0.16. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 11.76%.The business had revenue of $7.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.73 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank Of Montreal will post 10.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 29th will be given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.75%.

About Bank Of Montreal

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.