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

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) saw a large growth in short interest during 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 short-interest ratio is presently 16.7 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BMO. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 90.3% during the 1st quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 155,510 shares of the bank’s stock worth $15,178,000 after purchasing an additional 73,781 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 47.3% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 30,200 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,950,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $352,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Finally, Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. increased its position in Bank of Montreal by 114.7% during the 1st quarter. Patrick M Sweeney & Associates Inc. now owns 4,508 shares of the bank’s stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 2,408 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Bank of Montreal Stock Performance

NYSE BMO traded down $0.70 during trading on Friday, reaching $90.91. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,961,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,343. The company has a current ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.13. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $94.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.22.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The bank reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.34). The business had revenue of $5.68 billion during 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, equities analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

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