Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Update

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,560,000 shares, a growth of 120.6% from the March 31st total of 5,240,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 690,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.7 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BMO. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 192.1% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 219 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 3,375.0% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 417 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on BMO. Barclays began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $131.00.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of BMO traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $90.91. 3,961,611 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 705,343. The company has a market cap of $66.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.13. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $94.16 and its 200-day moving average is $90.22. Bank of Montreal has a 52 week low of $73.98 and a 52 week high of $100.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 0.94.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.34). The company had revenue of $5.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.34 billion. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.89% and a net margin of 7.40%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be issued a $1.1172 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.02%.

About Bank of Montreal

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.