Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Up 205.9% in October

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,820,000 shares, an increase of 205.9% from the September 30th total of 3,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 9.0 days. Approximately 1.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BMO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Bank of Montreal from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $134.00 to $117.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. Finally, TD Securities downgraded Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $119.75.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of BMO stock traded down $0.62 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.77. 868,526 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 886,007. The stock has a market cap of $67.66 billion, a PE ratio of 15.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $88.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $73.98 and a 12 month high of $100.12.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 27th. The bank reported $2.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.76 by ($0.12). Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 11.23% and a net margin of 8.50%. The company had revenue of $8.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.08 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Bank of Montreal will post 8.06 EPS for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a $1.123 dividend. This represents a $4.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio is currently 76.08%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 760 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,709,247 shares of the bank’s stock worth $166,985,000 after acquiring an additional 12,926 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 7,975 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 52.6% during the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 37,503 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 12,935 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in Bank of Montreal by 2.2% during the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 56,036 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,474,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.