Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO - Get Free Report) TSE: BMO saw 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 presently 16.9 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Bank of Montreal Trading Up 0.6 %

Bank of Montreal stock traded up $0.61 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $101.08. 392,733 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 554,264. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $98.57 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.68. Bank of Montreal has a twelve month low of $76.98 and a twelve month high of $104.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.79 billion, a PE ratio of 14.48, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.09.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.1329 per share. This is an increase from Bank of Montreal's previous quarterly dividend of $1.12. This represents a $4.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 30th. Bank of Montreal's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.32%.

Institutional Trading of Bank of Montreal

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Bank of Montreal by 179.5% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 313 shares of the bank's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Bank of Montreal in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on BMO. StockNews.com upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Scotiabank upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Bank of Montreal from a "neutral" rating to a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Bank of Montreal from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $133.00 to $161.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Cibc World Mkts raised Bank of Montreal from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $128.00.

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.