Short Interest in Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Increases By 120.6%

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) saw a large 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 volume of 690,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 16.7 days. Currently, 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BMO has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Bank of Montreal in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Bank of Montreal in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. They set an “overweight” rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $131.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,161 shares of the bank’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,739 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $568,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 6,622 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $655,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 39.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 463 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IAG Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 28.0% in the first quarter. IAG Wealth Partners LLC now owns 635 shares of the bank’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Bank of Montreal Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BMO traded down $1.82 on Friday, reaching $90.90. The company had a trading volume of 3,961,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 740,200. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.29 billion, a PE ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. Bank of Montreal has a 52-week low of $73.98 and a 52-week high of $100.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.16.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 7.40% and a return on equity of 11.89%. As a group, analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $1.1172 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. This represents a $4.47 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.92%. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.11. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is presently 62.02%.

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.