M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB – Get Rating) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report released on Thursday, The Fly reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Thursday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of M&T Bank from $167.00 to $195.00 in a research report on Monday, January 3rd. UBS Group started coverage on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Wednesday, January 12th. They set a “buy” rating and a $212.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of M&T Bank in a research report on Thursday, April 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of M&T Bank from $183.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 4th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, M&T Bank presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $187.74.

NYSE MTB opened at $176.34 on Thursday. M&T Bank has a 52-week low of $128.46 and a 52-week high of $186.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.06. The company has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $174.15 and a 200-day moving average of $164.92.

M&T Bank (NYSE:MTB – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 20th. The financial services provider reported $2.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.38 by $0.24. M&T Bank had a net margin of 30.44% and a return on equity of 12.14%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that M&T Bank will post 12.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

M&T Bank announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, February 22nd that permits the company to repurchase $800.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MTB. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of M&T Bank by 355.8% in the first quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 2,147 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 14.7% during the second quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 475,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $69,054,000 after acquiring an additional 60,944 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 3.8% during the third quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund now owns 19,880 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,969,000 after acquiring an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 41.1% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 450 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of M&T Bank by 17.6% during the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,582 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. 85.23% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

M&T Bank Company Profile (Get Rating)

M&T Bank Corporation operates as a bank holding company that provides commercial and retail banking services. The company's Business Banking segment offers deposit, lending, cash management, and other financial services to small businesses and professionals. Its Commercial Banking segment provides deposit products, commercial lending and leasing, letters of credit, and cash management services for middle-market and large commercial customers.

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