Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Short Interest Up 45.6% in January

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 10,950,000 shares, a growth of 45.6% from the January 15th total of 7,520,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 646,200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 16.9 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank of Montreal

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Bank of Montreal by 282.8% in the 4th quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 333 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Bank of Montreal by 244.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 554 shares of the bank’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 393 shares in the last quarter. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Bank of Montreal Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of BMO opened at $101.08 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $73.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09. Bank of Montreal has a 12 month low of $76.98 and a 12 month high of $104.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $98.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 30th will be paid a $1.1329 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 30th. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. This is a boost from Bank of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. Bank of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.32%.

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.