Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $179.96 and last traded at $179.33, with a volume of 19446 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BMO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Bank Of Montreal from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Weiss Ratings raised Bank Of Montreal from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Desjardins reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Bank Of Montreal in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.00.

Bank Of Montreal Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. The company has a market capitalization of $124.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.93. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $165.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $148.73.

Bank Of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) (TSE:BMO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The bank reported $2.68 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $7.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.62 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Bank Of Montreal will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank Of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 26th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 30th will be given a dividend of $1.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 30th. This is a positive change from Bank Of Montreal’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $6.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Bank Of Montreal’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.06%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Bank Of Montreal

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BMO. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Bank Of Montreal by 87.1% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 5,742 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $548,000 after acquiring an additional 2,673 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership purchased a new position in Bank Of Montreal in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,018,000. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 12,364 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,368,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Bank Of Montreal by 166.3% during the second quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 411,108 shares of the bank’s stock worth $45,518,000 after purchasing an additional 256,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in Bank Of Montreal by 5,614.3% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,800 shares of the bank’s stock worth $310,000 after acquiring an additional 2,751 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.82% of the company’s stock.

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.