M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) Short Interest Update

M&T Bank Co. (NYSE:MTB) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,680,000 shares, a growth of 30.0% from the February 13th total of 3,600,000 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company 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.

Insider Transactions at M&T Bank

In other news, EVP Christopher E. Kay sold 1,738 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.34, for a total value of $299,526.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 10,751 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,852,827.34. This trade represents a 13.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.53% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On M&T Bank

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of M&T Bank during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Banque Transatlantique SA purchased a new stake in M&T Bank in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 122.6% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 207 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of M&T Bank in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in M&T Bank during the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 84.68% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MTB has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $223.50 price objective (up previously from $215.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $236.00 price objective (up previously from $233.00) on shares of M&T Bank in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded M&T Bank from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $220.00 to $230.00 in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on M&T Bank from $234.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $222.03.

M&T Bank Price Performance

Shares of M&T Bank stock opened at $174.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $28.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.21. M&T Bank has a one year low of $133.03 and a one year high of $225.70.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.70 by $0.22. M&T Bank had a return on equity of 10.12% and a net margin of 19.24%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.74 EPS. Equities analysts expect that M&T Bank will post 16.57 EPS for the current year.

M&T Bank declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 22nd that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to reacquire up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

M&T Bank Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. M&T Bank’s payout ratio is 36.91%.

About M&T Bank

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.