Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,280,000 shares, an increase of 74.7% from the August 31st total of 4,740,000 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 647,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 12.8 days.
Bank of Montreal Stock Performance
BMO traded down $2.31 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $88.09. The company had a trading volume of 50,872 shares, compared to its average volume of 733,363. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $59.66 billion, a PE ratio of 6.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.17. Bank of Montreal has a 12-month low of $87.28 and a 12-month high of $122.77. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $97.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $103.45.
Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO – Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 30th. The bank reported $2.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $6.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.87 billion. Bank of Montreal had a net margin of 30.66% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 19.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.80 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 10.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 28th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 1st will be given a $1.086 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 31st. This represents a $4.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.93%. This is a positive change from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.08. Bank of Montreal’s payout ratio is 32.93%.
Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BMO. Veriti Management LLC increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 7,673 shares of the bank’s stock worth $738,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Tobam bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $128,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 58.3% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 24,836 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,930,000 after acquiring an additional 9,150 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. bought a new stake in Bank of Montreal during the 1st quarter worth approximately $201,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Bank of Montreal by 12.8% during the 1st quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 200,403 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,201,000 after acquiring an additional 22,776 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 42.52% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
BMO has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets downgraded shares of Bank of Montreal from a “buy” rating to a “reduce” rating and decreased their price target for the company from C$152.50 to C$150.50 in a research note on Wednesday, August 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$158.00 to C$151.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 31st. StockNews.com cut shares of Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 31st. Finally, Desjardins reduced their price objective on shares of Bank of Montreal from C$153.00 to C$150.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $159.72.
Bank of Montreal Company Profile
(Get Rating)
Bank of Montreal provides diversified financial services primarily in North America. The company’s personal banking products and services include checking and savings accounts, credit cards, mortgages, and financial and investment advice services; and commercial banking products and services comprise business deposit accounts, commercial credit cards, business loans and commercial mortgages, cash management solutions, foreign exchange, specialized banking programs, treasury and payment solutions, and risk management products for small business and commercial banking customers.
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