StockNews.com Downgrades M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) to Sell

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on MTB. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $205.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on M&T Bank from $216.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays increased their target price on M&T Bank from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson upped their price target on M&T Bank from $222.00 to $223.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Compass Point lifted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, M&T Bank currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $221.68.

M&T Bank Stock Down 0.6 %

M&T Bank stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $199.86. 1,353,478 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,410,469. M&T Bank has a 1 year low of $128.31 and a 1 year high of $225.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The firm has a market cap of $33.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $200.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $185.97.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) last released its earnings results 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that M&T Bank will post 16.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, January 22nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to repurchase up to 12.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other M&T Bank news, Vice Chairman Gary N. Geisel sold 2,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.89, for a total transaction of $537,566.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,546,856.81. The trade was a 13.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Vice Chairman Kevin J. Pearson sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $195.88, for a total value of $1,469,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 40,502 shares in the company, valued at $7,933,531.76. The trade was a 15.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,487 shares of company stock worth $8,578,809 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.82% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On M&T Bank

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,349,398 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,199,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,508,846 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,773,439 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,562,725,000 after acquiring an additional 527,854 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,037,144 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $897,216,000 after acquiring an additional 190,837 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,329,814 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $768,824,000 after buying an additional 66,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Senvest Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of M&T Bank by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Senvest Management LLC now owns 882,841 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $157,252,000 after buying an additional 96,500 shares during the period. 84.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.