Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the thirteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have given a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $163.00.

Several analysts recently issued reports on BMO shares. Desjardins reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Barclays restated an “underweight” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Finally, National Bank Financial reissued a “sector perform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Wednesday, February 25th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Code Waechter LLC increased its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Code Waechter LLC now owns 4,486 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $582,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 33.2% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 317 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Naples Global Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Naples Global Advisors LLC now owns 17,780 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,141 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $425,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Bank Of Montreal by 0.8% during the first quarter. Turn8 Private Wealth Inc. now owns 11,215 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,514,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. 45.82% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Bank Of Montreal Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BMO opened at $173.16 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Bank Of Montreal has a fifty-two week low of $104.08 and a fifty-two week high of $173.93. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $157.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.14. The firm has a market cap of $121.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 0.95.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.54 by $0.14. Bank Of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.04% and a net margin of 12.60%.The company had revenue of $7.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.62 EPS. Bank Of Montreal’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a $1.71 dividend. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. Bank Of Montreal’s payout ratio is 50.96%.

About Bank Of Montreal

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO), commonly known as BMO Financial Group, is one of Canada’s largest and longest-established banks. Founded in Montreal and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, the bank provides a broad range of financial services to retail, commercial, corporate and institutional clients. BMO is publicly listed in both Canada and the United States and operates under a consolidated financial services model that integrates banking, capital markets, wealth management and asset management activities.

BMO’s core businesses include personal and commercial banking—offering checking and savings accounts, lending, mortgages, and small-business services—alongside wealth management and private banking through its asset and investment management divisions.