M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Short Interest Up 30.0% in February

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,680,000 shares, an increase of 30.0% from the February 13th total of 3,600,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,280,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MTB. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded shares of M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $269.00 to $253.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Compass Point boosted their target price on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $222.03.

M&T Bank Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MTB traded down $1.13 on Monday, reaching $174.46. 730,677 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,015,448. The business’s 50-day moving average is $192.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $192.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. M&T Bank has a fifty-two week low of $133.03 and a fifty-two week high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a net margin of 19.24% and a return on equity of 10.12%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that M&T Bank will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. M&T Bank’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.91%.

M&T Bank declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, January 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of M&T Bank stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total transaction of $299,526.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 10,751 shares in the company, valued at $1,852,827.34. The trade was a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MTB. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 15,819 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $3,195,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 971 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,824 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $531,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $660,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in M&T Bank by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,873 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

M&T Bank Company Profile

M&T Bank Corp. operates as a bank holding company, which engages in the provision of retail and commercial banking, trust, wealth management and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Business Banking, Commercial Banking, Commercial Real Estate, Discretionary Portfolio, Residential Mortgage Banking, and Retail Banking.